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EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE 



WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY'S 



CONFESSION OF FAITH 

BEING THE 

DRAUGHT OF AN "OVERTURE" PREPARED BY A COMMITTEE 
OF THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED SYNOD, IN 1783. 




A NEW EDITION: 

lit Ij ait ^nixoiutixon hjtit ^jiottn, 

BY 

REV. DAVID MCDILL, D.D. 



CINCINNATI: 
MOORE, WILSTACH, KEYS & CJ., 

25 WEST FOURTH STREET. 
18 5 5. 






■B*^* 



b5' 

■ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
MOORE, WILSTACH, KEYS & CO., 

In the Clerk's office of the District Conrt for the Southern 
District of Ohio. 



WM. OYEREND & CO., Printers, 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The following paper was prepared and published 
A. D., 1787, by a Committee oe the Associate Ee- 
formed Synod, as an " Overture" for illustrating and 
defending the doctrines of the Confession of Faith. 
Having been laid before the Synod, it was substantially 
approved, and recommended to the Churches as useful 
for the purposes intended. It has been long and 
familiarly known by the name of " The Overture." It 
is understood that Eev. Eobert Annan was its sole 
Author. 

EDITOE. 

(iii) 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE. 

Editor's Introduction 9 

Author's Introduction 23 

Confessions of Faith — Their Use 33 

CHAPTER I. 

The Scriptures a Revelation from God and the Foundation of 
all true Religion 40 

CHAPTER II. 

God and the Trinity 58 

CHAPTER III. 
Divine Decrees 66 

CHAPTER IV. 

Creation 72 

(v) 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

PAGB. 

Providence 78 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Fall of Man 80 

CHAPTER VII. 
Covenant of Works and of Grace , 84 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Christ — His Person and Offices 89 

CHAPTER IX. 
Man's Free Will 114 

CHAPTER X. 
Regeneration 116 

CHAPTER XI. 
Justification 121 

CHAPTER XII. 
Adoption 130 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Sanctification 133 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER XIV. 

PAGE. 

Saving Faith 138 

CHAPTER XV. 
Repentance unto Life 147 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Good Works 150 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Perseverance of the Saints loo 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Assurance of Grace and Salvation 159 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Law of God — A Covenant — A Rule of Life 162 

CHAPTER XX. 

Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience 172 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Religious Worship 175 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Lawful Oaths and Vows 187 



/ 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

PAGE. 

Civil Magistrate 197 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Marriage and Divorce 203 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Church of Christ 205 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Communion of Saints 213 

CHAPTERS XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX. 
Sacraments — Baptism and the Lord's Supper 222 

CHAPTERS XXX, XXXI. 
Church Government and Discipline 233 

Thoughts on the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures 251 

Conclusion 272 

Appendix 283 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 



The following draught of an Overture for illustrating and 
defending the Doctrines of the Confession of Faith, prepared 
by a Committee of the Associate Eeformed Synod in the 
year 1783, is now republished, in the hope that it may 
promote the cause of truth, and subserve the interests of 
the Redeemer's kingdom. Having been solicited to furnish 
some historical and explanatory notes, the writer has thought 
it expedient to prepare an introduction, of considerable, 
perhaps of disproportionate length. It will consist, in part, 
of extracts from an appendix to a discourse on religious 
fasting, by the late Eev. John Hemphill, D. D. 

Having adverted to the union in which the Associate 
Reformed Church had her origin, Mr. H. proceeds : 

"It is well known, that the Associate and Reformed 
Presbyteries who entered into this union, were churches 
nearly related in their views of the doctrine, government, 
discipline, and worship of the Church of Christ. 

" Both parties had forsaken the communion of the estab- 
lished Church of Scotland, [counting all the honors and 
emoluments of the establishment but loss for Christ,] 
because of errors and backslidings into which she had 
fallen, The principal difference between themselves, was 



x editor's introduction. 

respecting the civil powers in Great Britain. One main- 
tained that, considering the Lord's goodness in bringing 
their nation into such a high state of reformation, and the 
solemn engagements under which they and the nation had 
come, they could not acknowledge these powers as lawful, 
which were set up according to the plan adopted at the 
revolution, anno 1688, or yield obedience to them, for con- 
science' sake ; that, to do so, would be to violate their cov- 
enant engagements, to encourage and strengthen the hands 
of the enemies of the reformation, and partake in the 
general apostasy of the nation. 

" On the contrary, the others maintained, that, while 
they bore testimony against every step of the national 
apostasy, everything in the revolution settlement that was 
wrong, and every degree of power given to the civil rulers 
which did not belong to them, yet, in other respects, their 
power being that which belonged to civil rulers, and they 
being clothed with it by the consent of the people ; in 
these respects, they considered the powers in Britain, even 
after the revolution, lawful powers, and to their lawful com- 
mands obedience was due, not only for fear of wrath, but 
for conscience' sake; that, in conducting in this manner, 
they did all that was right for them to do in opposing the 
enemies of the reformation, and in condemning the general 
apostasy of the nation, and that, therefore, they acted con- 
sistently with their solemn national engagements. 

" These are the outlines of that dispute which prevailed 
between Seceders and Covenanters. [We do not regard it 
as having been, in its day, altogether an idle dispute, 
though good men might take opposite sides.] This was 



EDITOR S INTRODUCTION. XI 

the principal thing that kept them separate communions. 
The disputes ran high, [as disputes are apt to do between 
those 'near of kin']. The opposition was carried a great 
length on both sides, and, as is too common in such cases, 
there was a degree of bitterness and want of candor in 
many of their writings and speeches, which was far from 
justifiable. This was the opinion of many of the judicious, 
serious, and sensible, in both these communions, and of 
many others who did not belong to one or the other. 
[There were some in the establishment who sympathized 
with them ; more would have done so, and probably have 
joined them, but for this 'unseemly strife.'] 

" That it was the ardent wish of many such characters to 
see these two sister churches united into one body, will not 
be denied. 

" That the Lord would remove the cause, and heal the 
breaches, was the professed desire of all, and the earnest 
prayer of many on both sides. Has, then, the Lord done 
nothing for us in this respect? Certainly he has. Al- 
though in Britain the same difficulty remains, this is not 
the case in America. We are now planted in a land, which, 
as such, has never been reformed in the manner in which 
Britain was — a land which, as a nation, was never under 
such solemn covenant engagements— a land freed from that 
government which gives to the chief magistrate supreme 
power in all causes, both spiritual and temporal. Those 
very circumstances, then, from which the dispute sprang ; 
those very circumstances on which it depends ; those very 
circumstances on which the propriety of introducing and 
maintaining that dispute, as far as peculiar to them, rests ; 



xii editor's introduction. 

those circumstances being removed in America, was there 
not a door opened for these two churches to unite ? I sup- 
pose it will be granted, if the Lord would, in the same 
manner, change the circumstances of the contending parties 
everywhere, that it would be their duty to embrace that as 
a favorable opportunity of obtaining that union for which 
they had been praying and waiting." 

"If to desire a union between these churches was law- 
ful, to attempt to bring it about was also lawful. Accord- 
ingly, this attempt was made when the favorable opportunity 
offered, after the American revolution. Nor was this union 
entered into in a rash, inconsiderate manner. It appears, 
from the best accounts we have of it, to have been the fruit 
of much serious deliberation. During several years, differ- 
ent meetings and conferences were held on the subject ; at 
last, in the year 1782, the union was finally closed. 

" The principles on which the union was founded are 
these : 

1. That Jesus Christ died for the elect only. 

2. That there is an appropriation in the nature of faith. 

3. That the Grospel is indiscriminately addressed to 
sinners of mankind. 

4. That the righteousness of Christ is the alone proper 
condition of the covenant of grace. 

5. That civil power originates from God, the Creator, 
and not from Christ, the Mediator. 

6. That the administration of the kingdom of Provi- 
dence is committed to Jesus Christ, the Mediator; and 
magistracy, the ordinance appointed by the moral governor 
of the world, to be the pillar or prop of civil order among 



editor's INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

men, as well as other things, is rendered subservient by the 
Mediator to the welfare of his spiritual kingdom, the 
Church ; and beside, the Church has the sanctified use of 
that, and every common benefit, through the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

7. That the law of nature and the .moral law revealed 
in Scripture are substantially the same, although the latter 
expresses the will of God more evidently and clearly than 
the former; and, therefore, magistrates among Christians 
ought to be regulated by the general directions of the Word, 
as to the execution of their offices, in faithfulness and 
righteousness. 

8. That the qualifications of justice, veracity, etc., 
required in the law of nature for the being of a magistrate, 
are also more explicitly and clearly revealed, as necessary 
in Scripture. But a religious test, any farther than an oath 
of fidelity, can never be essentially necessary to the being 
of a magistrate, except where the people make it a condi- 
tion of government; then it may be among that people 
necessary, by their own voluntary deed. 

9. That both parties, when united, shall adhere to the 
Westminster Confession of Faith, Catechisms, Larger and 
Shorter, Directory for Worship, and propositions concerning 
Church government. 

10. That they shall claim the full exercise of Church 
government and discipline, without dependence on foreign 
judicatories/' 

Here several thoughts occur to the mind : 
1. When the parties came to understand one another, 
real differences were seen not to be so great as they had 



XIV EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

"been supposed to be, or as they had been made to appear 
by the alchemy of ultra theorists and ardent controversial- 
ists ; and " supposed" differences, (always the most numer- 
ous in such cases,) became " like the chaff of the summer 
thrashing-floors. " All that was really necessary to con- 
summate the union, was, that the parties should try to 
understand each other, and try not to keep believing that 
there were great and important differences between them. 

2. The above basis on which the parties united, was 
never made a term of communion in the united Church, or 
proposed as a test to those who applied for Christian privi- 
leges. It was wisely taken for granted, that all those of 
either of the parties who acquiesced in the union at the 
time, or came into it afterward, were so far satisfied with 
the principles on which it was founded, that they could have 
comfortable communion with their brethren, and be edified. 
This is as far as it can ever be necessary that Christians 
should be of " the same mind," in order that they may 
have fellowship one with another, and also with "the 
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." To insist on an 
unnecessary and impracticable agreement in sentiment and 
opinion, in order to union and communion among Christians, 
is only an indirect and disingenuous method of opposing 
union. While all were of one mind as to the duty of 
"endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds 
of peace," what harm could possibly follow, though some 
should continue to believe, that, in the " Old Country," the 
Seceders were in the right, and others, that the Covenanters 
were in the right ? 

3. The Associate Eeformed Church has not, and never 



editor's INTRODUCTION. XV 

had, any terms of communion which would exclude either 
Seceders or Covenanters from participating with her in all 
the ordinances of the Lord Jesus. With respect to all such 
differences, her uniform language is, and has been — " For- 
bear one another in love" — " Brethren, forbear." 

4. The union was consummated without any attempt 
being made by either of the parties to bind the other up by 
oaths, covenants, and testimonies. No such jealous disposi- 
tion was cherished. They had confidence in one another, 
as only honest men can have confidence, either in themselves 
or in other people. 

5. The only pledge which the parties made to each other 
is contained in the ninth article, and has for its object, the 
future maintenance of " sound doctrine." Over these sym- 
bols of faith, exclusive of anything else, the members of 
the Associate Eeformed Church have hitherto pledged them- 
selves to each other — to God and his Church. Whatever 
resolutions or rules she may have adopted, to regulate or 
direct her administrations, never has she required of persons 
applying for her privileges, or her members when offering 
their children for baptism, or of ministers and elders at 
their ordination, more or less than an assent to the Con- 
fession of Faith and Catechisms, and an approbation of her 
form of government and directories for worship, as founded 
on, or agreeable to, the word of God. Occasions may arise, 
when it is necessary for a church, in her administrations, 
to insist on some things which are not explicitly set forth 
in her standards ; but an occasion may change its character 
in the course of a few months, or it may entirely pass away, 
and with it, this necessity. Such things will then cease to 



xvi . editor's introduction. 

be regarded as important. Hence, they should never have 
a place among the stated terms of communion in the 
Church. And indeed, in such cases, individuals must often, 
to some extent, be left to exercise their own judgment. 
People may be heartily agreed with respect to their duty, as 
prescribed in the word of God ; but, with respect to their 
duty, as it is to be deduced from a comparison of the teach- 
ings of the Bible with the character of existing facts, they 
may differ ; that is, they may differ with respect to what is 
present duty and the best manner of performing it, while 
yet they are all equally studious to walk blamelessly in 
all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 

The want of some definite ideas here has been the cause 
of much confusion and division in the Church. Perhaps it 
was the cause of the wrangle between the old Seceders and 
Covenanters ; certainly, it was the cause of the painful 
rupture between the Burghers and Antiburghers. The 
matter in controversy should have been left to Sessional 
jurisdiction, with, perhaps, some prudent advice, if advice 
were asked, and if it could be given with tolerable unanimity. 
But what if the Sessions concerned in the case had decided 
wrong ? Well, what if they had ? Did the Synod decide 
right ? Take which side of the question we may, we must 
admit that one division of the Synod were sadly wrong. 
And the scandal, the reproach brought on religion, and on 
the cause of the Secession, were incomparably greater than 
could have resulted from the error of a few Sessions. 
Suppose two or three score of good Christian people had, in 
their simplicity, or in their ignorance of the laws of the 
realm, taken an oath of allegiance, which a casuist could 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. XV11 

show contained a clause of doubtful propriety, what would 
this have been in comparison of the awful sentence of 
excommunication, which, in the heat of controversy, the 
one party pronounced on the other ? 

6. The principles on which the union was formed, were 
all of an important and weighty character. It would be 
impossible to point to anything in the basis which is of a 
frivolous nature, or which evinces a disputatious temper, or 
which shows that one of the parties wished to have some- 
thing put on record which would bear witness that con- 
cessions had been made to them, or which indicates that 
the parties were not yet tired of wrangling. 

11 Upon these principles, all of the ministers of the 
Keformed Presbytery, and all the ministers of both the 
Associate Presbyteries, united together, except Mr. Mar- 
shall and Mr. Clarkson, two members of the Associate 
Presbytery of Pennsylvania. They refused to unite on 
these principles, and so formed themselves into a distinct 
Presbytery, which is styled the Associate Presbytery of 
Pennsylvania. Those who entered into the union, are styled 
the Associate Keformed Synod. A few of the people 
belonging to the Keformed Presbytery, refused to unite on 
the above principles. They have been joined by emigrants 
from Britain and Ireland, and have received ministers from 
those countries, who are formed into a Presbytery, called 
the Keformed Presbytery of North America." 

Both these dissenting Presbyteries have since grown into 
Synods. They have always contained many good, pious 
people, and many excellent ministers. It is proper that we 
should pay this tribute to the grace of God, " that wrought 



XV111 editor's introduction. 

effectually in them," though we can not approve all their 
measures. 

All parties received accessions to their ministry from 
abroad; but, for some years, it is believed that few "emi- 
grants from Britain and Ireland " joined the Associate 
Eeformed Church. Emigrants, immediately on their land- 
ing in America, were poorly qualified to form a correct 
judgment as to the merits of the union. The controversy, 
as well as its causes, still continued to exist between the 
parties, (the " Mother Churches," as they were called,) in 
the " Old Country ;" and each party was as unwilling to 
lose what strength it had in America, as Great Britain was 
to lose what interest she had in the colonies. Both the 
mother churches supposing, what they had no right to sup- 
pose, that they were capable of judging as to the duty of 
their brethren in the altered state of things in this coun- 
try, condemned the union; and those "who went out from 
them," would, of course, bring to America the prejudices 
in which they had been nurtured on the other side of the 
Atlantic. It was a great deal easier, even for a talented 
young minister, to declaim against the union, on his first 
setting foot in America, than to appreciate the reasons 
which rendered it a wise, necessary, and Christian measure. 
Had the same view been taken of the civil institutions of 
the United States, by the body of the Eeformed Presby- 
terian ministers and people at first, which, at present, 
prevails in one of the parties into which they have since 
divided, it is difficult to believe that the Eeformed Presby- 
terian Church would ever have existed in this country as a 
distinct body. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. XIX 

Each party in Scotland had its Testimony. A testimony 
was deemed necessary to supply some defects in the Con- 
fession of Faith. Or, if this be thought an incorrect 
representation, though we do not see that it is, a testimony 
was deemed necessary to unfold, more fully and particularly, 
the doctrines of the Confession of Faith, and to direct its 
principles against many errors and corruptions which the 
Confession does not explicitly condemn. It was charged on 
the Associate Eeformed Church, as a great fault, that she 
had no book or paper called a Testimony. It did not 
satisfy to reply, that she had the best testimony in the 
world — the Bible — the great leading truths of which were 
exhibited in her Confession of Faith. Many of her own 
people thought that something was still wanting, while she 
had no Testimony. Such a paper, they did not doubt, had 
always had a place in the Church. At least, it was a great 
departure from a usage which had existed from time (to 
them) out of mind, to have none. The Synod were con- 
vinced that it was improper to have such a paper in 
addition to the Confession of Faith, which should make a 
part of her standards, and be regarded as a term of com- 
munion, so that an approbation of it — logic, metaphysics, 
loose reasonings, inapt quotations of Scripture, and all 
— every person, whether young or old, must be required to 
express, on his joining the Church, and when he offers his 
children for baptism. 

As a general fact, it may be remarked, in reference to 
these papers called Testimonies, that they are apt to be 
most zealous and earnest when opposing such things as 
separate churches which are nearly related, or such shades 



XX EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

of error as will frequently appear in evangelical churches, 
through the influence of men who are of a speculative turn 
of mind, hut which are destined only to a temporary exist- 
ence, because they are soon opposed by the friends of 
Gospel truth in the body where they make their appearance. 
But an inconsiderable portion of them is devoted to the 
elucidation and defense of the great saving truths of Chris- 
tianity. Often do Deistical, Socinian, and other soul- 
destroying errors, receive but a perfunctory notice. It is 
not, as a general fact, on such subjects that the authors of 
testimonies write with spirit, faith, and point. In an age 
when the tendency of the public mind is toward skepticism, 
this is an unhappy feature. A diseased mind, which is 
indisposed to believe enough, will not be cured by offering 
it too much to be believed, but by placing great truths 
before it in a convincing light. 

The Synod refused to offer a Testimony to the churches 
under her care. But a work illustrating and defending the 
doctrines of the Confession, which should receive the judicial 
approbation of the Synod — to this, provided it were what 
it should be — there could be no objections ; and it might 
be useful. It could not be less useful, as a means of instruc- 
tion, on account of its not being adopted as a part of the 
fixed testimony of the Church. A committee was appointed 
to prepare such a paper. Hence, the " Overture." It was 
from the pen of Eev. Robert Annan. It is the product of a 
great mind. About the year 1813, after hearing him 
preach at a very advanced age, a minister of the Reformed 
Dutch Church remarked, that his discourse brought vividly 
before his mind the idea of " a great light just going out." 



EDITOll 6 INTRODUCTION. XXI 

The Synod recommended the Overture to their people, as, in 
substance, a useful book. Probably, there are a few pas- 
sages in it. in which the Synod could not have unanimously 
concurred ; but they were not thought of such importance 
as to require particular animadversion. It contains a few 
ideas which we cannot entirely approve. What human 
work is perfect ? Who can write a book which shall con- 
tain nothing to which another, of very inferior mind, may 
not be able to take just exceptions? We do not regarol 
the Associate Reformed Church as " held and firmly bound " 
to receive and defend every one of its positions. Xone will 
contend that the Church must, in all future time, acknowl- 
edge, as an article of faith, everything that may have 
received the sanction of a Synod or Council, unless, by 
some means, the opinion has obtained a secret lodgment in 
his mind, that there is some sort of infallibility in such 
decisions. 

The reader will find a few foot-notes appended to pas- 
sages which, in earlier or later times, were subjects of 
doubt, cavil, or misrepresentation. 

Our earnest prayer is. that G-od would bless the following 
pages to the establishment of Christians in the truth ; and 
also, that he would render them useful to the friends of 
Christian union, by leading them to see that the only true 
basis of union, because the only basis on which the whole 
Church of God can ever become one organic body, is the 
Divine Testimony exhibited, or its meaning ascertained, in 
plain, simple, doctrinal statements. D. 

Prospect Hill, III., Feb. 16, 1865. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Man is endowed by his great Creator with noble powers 
and faculties. God made him but a little lower than the 
angels. He is exalted in the scale of being far above the 
irrational and inanimate parts of the creation ; and is laid 
under peculiar and very strong obligations to glorify and 
serve his Creator and Almighty Preserver. But obligations 
to gratitude and praise are infinitely accumulated by our 
redemption through the death and sufferings of Jesus 
Christ, the eternal Son of God. Eedemption from sin and 
misery seems to be God's peculiar gift to men. Eebel angels 
do not participate in it. And it appears to be the greatest 
of the works of God. In it he has made the fullest display 
of his glorious nature and perfections. Here we see the 
Father giving his Son: The Son yielding to his Father's 
appointment and giving himself for us: and the Holy 
Spirit applying the gift. Jesus Christ is the brightness of 
the divine glory, he is the image of the invisible Godi 
The fullness of the Godhead dwelleth in him bodily. The 
human nature of Christ is the true temple of the Deity, 
where he dwells and manifests all his glory. In him 
mercy and truth meet together ; righteousness and peace 
embrace each other. Here we see justice flaming; holiness 



xxiv INTRODUCTION. 

shining ; mercy beaming with the most mild and amiable 
radiance ; righteousness and peace enthroned and speaking 
in the sweetest accents from the throne. And not only the 
moral character of the Deity is here emblazoned ; but his 
natural attributes also shine with infinite splendor. In 
Christ we behold all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 
and the power of Grod is transcendently glorified in him. 

With unfeigned thankfulness and the highest joy, we 
desire to commemorate the redeeming love of Christ. 
This dear Eedeemer we desire to honor ; to his glory to 
dedicate our time, our strength, and all our talents. We 
would not betray nor desert his cause for a thousand 
worlds ; and we trust our witness is on high, that there is 
nothing we so ardently desire as through grace to be found 
faithful to our divine Master. We rejoice in the promise, 
that race unto race shall praise him, and show forth his 
mighty deeds. And we will not cease to contribute our 
mite to spread abroad, and transmit down to posterity, the 
sweet savor of his most precious name. It is the character 
of true church members, that they appear with the Lamb 
on the mount Zion, having his Father's name written on 
their foreheads : by which phrase must be understood an 
open and bold confession of Grod and Christ before the 
world. Without such an open confession of his name, we 
can not give public glory to him, nor promote his religion 
among men. And Christ declares, that whosoever is 
ashamed to confess him before men ; of that man he will be 
ashamed before his rather and his holy angels* 

The testimony of the Church is, therefore, no visionary 
thing ; it ought not to be treated with ridicule ; for it is 



INTRODUCTION. XXV 

one grand design of her erection, that she may bear a 
public testimony for God. But what is the testimony of 
the Church? The Bible, and nothing but the Bible, is 
the matter of her testimony, whatever different forms it 
may assume. For in the Bible the Lord testifies of him- 
self. He is the Amen, the faithful and true Witness. 
"We are not allowed to witness anything of him, but what 
he has witnessed of himself. All that the Church can say 
is, " Truth, Lord." It is evidently the design of the whole 
book of God to call our attention to Jesus Christ, as the 
Saviour of lost sinners. God the Lather says, " Hear ye 
him." Christ says, "Look to me and be saved; hear, and 
your souls shall live." The doctrine of redemption by the 
blood of Christ, flows like a great river of life through 
divine revelation, making glad the city of God. This river 
was opened soon after Adam's lapse, in the first gospel 
promise, "that the seed of the woman should bruise the 
serpent's head." Small, indeed, in its beginning; but 
gradually enlarging, widening, and deepening. Doubtless, 
Adam endeavored to enlighten his children with the 
knowledge of this salvation. They, indeed, gradually fell 
off from the true religion, and plunged into such atrocious 
wickedness, that God, in righteous indignation, sent a flood 
of waters on the earth, and swept away the world of the 
ungodly : but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness and 
an upright man in that wicked generation. He, doubtless, 
also endeavored to diffuse among his posterity the sweet 
savor of the knowledge of Christ, and salvation through his 
name. But his posterity also gradually fell away, and must 
inevitably have been all swallowed up in the bottomless 



XXVI INTRODUCTION. 

abyss of heathenism — and the true religion entirely lost — 
had not Grod graciously called Abraham from Ur of the 
Chaldees ; manifested himself to him in a singular manner ; 
entered into covenant with him and his seed ; and made 
known the Saviour to him with peculiar evidence. Thus, 
to Abraham and his seed, were the promises made. And 
the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was 
not to him, nor his seed, through the law, but through the 
righteousness of faith. All this while the testimony of 
Jesus was not committed to writing. But the longevity of 
the patriarchs greatly compensated for that want ; and the 
revelation of saving truth was very simple and concise. 
Methuselah was cotemporary with Adam two hundred and 
forty-five years ; Xoah cotemporary with Methuselah near 
six hundred years, and only about ninety years from Adam. 
And, at the time of Xoah's death, Abraham was fifty-eight 
years of age. Thus the saving truth descended, by easy 
transitions, from Adam to Methuselah ; from him to Noah ; 
and from Xoah to Abraham. 

After this period, the Church was inclosed, and prevented 
from mingling with the heathen, by the ordinance of cir- 
cumcision ; and animated to faith and patience by the a 14- 
cheering promise of the Saviour, delivered in a more full 
and explicit manner ; and also by the promise of the land 
of Canaan as her earthly rest. Abraham committed the 
precious treasure to his son Isaac ; and Isaac to Jacob ; 
who were all eminent prophets, inspired by the spirit of 
saving truth. Jacob committed it to his sons, and they to 
their children ; and, in the firm faith of it, Joseph gave a 
charge to his brethren concerning his bones, that they 



INTRODUCTION. XXvii 

should carry them up to the promised land. Four hundred 
and thirty years after the covenant of circumcision was 
given to Abraham, the law was delivered to Moses at 
Mount Sinai. And he, guided by the spirit of inspira- 
tion, committed to writing the whole testimony of Jesus, 
so far as God saw meet to amplify it at that time. 
Abraham's posterity being brought out of Egypt, and 
established in the land of promise, became, through the 
divine blessing, a great nation, and for many ages were the 
only Church of Christ, the only people on earth in cov- 
enant with God. The rest of Noah's posterity had cast 
themselves out of covenant by their own perfidiousness 
and baseness, and were, for many ages, sad monuments of 
the degeneracy of fallen man ; of the enmity of the human 
heart against G-od ; and of the feebleness and insufficiency 
of human reason, not only to acquire, by its own exertions, 
the true and saving knowledge of God, and of that worship 
which is acceptable to him, and the practice of that genu- 
ine virtue, which is the native fruit of true religion ; but 
even to retain these after they had been revealed to men. 
But during this period, God frequently published, by the 
prophets of his Church, his gracious purposes respecting 
the heathen. In the second Psalm he says to his Son, 
" Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thy 
heritage, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy 
possession ;" and remarkable is the conclusion of that 
Psalm for its Xew Testament style: " Now, therefore, ye 
kings of the earth be wise and kiss the Son." The pro- 
phecy of Isaiah abounds with predictions of the conversion 
of the Gentiles, and some of the other prophets plainly 



XXV111 INTRODUCTION. 

mention it, to which we refer. But the great event was 
reserved to be the glory and triumph of the incarnate 
Eedeemer himself, after having finished the work given him 
to do. 

We desire to commemorate, with the highest joy and 
gratitude, the infinite love of God to a perishing world, in 
giving his only begotten Son. Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who thus visited and 
redeemed his people, and raised up for us a Horn of salva- 
tion in the house of his servant David: to perform the 
mercy promised to the fathers, and to remember his holy 
covenant. Glory to God in the highest, and peace on 
earth, and good-will toward men. How pertinent the tri- 
umph of Simeon ! And he took him up in his arms and 
blessed God and said, " Lord, now let-test thou thy servant 
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation : a 
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people 
Israel." What a wonderful era this, in the history of 
mankind ! Christ made all things new in the Church and 
in the world. A new heaven and a new earth. When the 
Prince of Peace set his foot on this globe, the nations were 
silent before him ! they dropped from their hands their 
murderous weapons, and were hushed into peace ! 

The Son of God, by patient suffering and dying, finished 
transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in an 
everlasting righteousness ; confirmed the covenant, and 
caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease; spoiled princi- 
palities and powers, and made a show of them openly, 
triumphing over them on his cross ; took the prey from the 
mighty, and set the lawful captive at liberty ; foiled Satan, 



INTRODUCTION. XXIX 

abolished sin, hell, and death, filled up and completed the 
testimony given to the Church, sealed it with his blood, and 
shut it up with an awful curse on all that should add to it 
or diminish it. And having, after his ascension to heaven, 
according to his promise, poured out his spirit on those 
whom he appointed the ministers of his religion, his word 
had free course and was glorified. He gave testimony to 
the word of his grac?, in such sort, that, by the plain preach- 
ing of the doctrine of his cross, by a few despised men, 
the kingdom of Satan trembled and fell. The thick dark- 
ness which covered the nations was dispelled ; and Satan, 
who had long reigned in that thick darkness, was cast 
down from his throne ; and it was not long until our 
ancestors in Britain and Ireland were cheered with the 
orient beams of the Sun of righteousness, rising on them 
with healing in his wings. 

We give praise and glory to G-od for the spirit, resolution, 
and faithfulness, wherewith he inspired his witnesses and 
martyrs, to hold fast the truth of the Gospel, during the vio- 
lent persecutions under pagan Eome. And that even at the 
time, when the man of sin, foretold by the apostle Paul, and 
minutely described by the apostle John in the Apocalypse, 
was far advanced to maturity ; yea, at the very time of the 
plenitude of his power and fullness of his iniquity, God did 
not want witnesses to testify against the abominations which 
then polluted the Church, among which witnesses, we may 
enumerate the followers of Wickliffe in the island of Britain, 
and the Waldenses on the continent. 

We commemorate, with all thankfulness, the bright dis- 
plays of the grace, mercy and power of God our Saviour at 



XXX INTRODUCTION. 

the reformation from popery. What a blessing to the world 
that Jesus Christ gave such a "blow to the man of sin ! The 
reformation has been of great service to the Church of Eome 
itself, and we hope will finally subdue a great part of its 
members to the obedience of faith. 

We praise God for the noble zeal, firmness and patience, 
with which he qualified his witnesses, during their struggles 
against popery. These men were the heroes of our religion. 
The substance of their testimony we adopt and espouse with 
all our hearts, under full conviction that it is the testimony 
of Jesus ; and we wish to transmit, in purity, to our poster- 
ity, the good cause which has been sealed with the blood of 
the Saviour and the blood of his holy martyrs. 

But though we wish to extend our grateful remembrance, 
to what the Lord did. in and by his faithful witnesses, in all 
the Protestant churches : yet, we commemorate, in a special 
manner, his goodness to Britain and Ireland, in collecting 
such a bright cloud of witnesses for his name there, among 
whom we have the honor to rank our ancestors. "We hearti- 
ly espouse their testimony, both against popery and prelacy, 
and abhor the horrid cruelty with which their adversaries 
made war with these illustrious sufferers. We thank God 
for the deliverance accomplished for his Church in Britain 
and Ireland, at the glorious revolution, and lament that our 
fathers did not improve, to better purpose, the prize then put 
in their hands. 

In like manner, we commemorate, with unfeigned grati- 
tude and joy, whatever has been done by our fathers and 
brethren in Scotland, in agreeableness to the Lord's will, for 
obstructing the progress of error, clearing up and establish- 



INTRODUCTION. XXXI 

ing the truths of the Gospel, and asserting the rights and 
liberties of Christ's Church. We heartily espouse their tes- 
timony as to the spirit and substance of it. But we lament 
the mismanagement of the good cause, especially by schism 
and division among themselves, than which nothing con- 
tributed more, to harden the leaders of the defection in their 
tyrannical courses. At the same time, we do not wish to per- 
plex the Church here with merely local controversies, such as 
that about the lawfulness of swearing, a religious clause in 
a certain burgess oath, which has no place anywhere on earth 
but in a few cities in Scotland, and we are certain can affect 
no person's conscience here : or that about the lawfulness of 
submission to the civil powers in Britain, while we all read- 
ily acknowledge and submit to the civil authority in the 
United States. But while we set aside these local contro- 
versies, we can boldly declare, there is not a single point of 
divine truth, in doctrine, worship, discipline and government 
appertaining to the Beformed Church of Scotland, for which 
we do not contend. 

The Christian profession in itself, when stripped of local 
peculiarities with which some have invested it and with 
which, while they meant to adorn it, they have really marred 
its beauty, is equally suited or adapted to all nations and 
places of the world. 

Finally, we give praise and glory to God for his unuttera- 
ble goodness in providing a retreat for his Church and people 
in America, from the iron rod of oppression and persecution ; 
for planting the vine of the Gospel in this land, and watering 
it from time to time, with the influences of his spirit — for 
preserving and wonderfully supporting us through the horrors 



XXX11 INTRODUCTION. 

of the late bloody war, and conducting it to a happy issue ; 
for commanding peace in all our borders and establishing our 
liberties, sacred and civil ; so that none can hurt us ; if we 
do not, by a spirit of irreligion, division, luxury and ingrat- 
itude, bring swift destruction on ourselves. These are the 
Lord's doings and wonderful in our eyes ! A blessed oppor- 
tunity is put into the hands of his ministers and people, to 
build the house of the G-od of heaven, in the nearest con- 
formity to the pattern showed in his holy word. May he, 
who hath given us the opportunity, also give grace to us all, 
to improve it to his glory, and the happiness of the present 
and future generations. Amen, 



DRAUGHT OF AN OVERTURE 



FOR 



ILLUSTKATING AND DEFENDING THE DOCTEINES 



OF THE 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 



On Confessions of Faith and their Use. 

We have said that the Bible is the only testimony of the 
Church, and most certainly it is so. To the law and to the 
testimony, if they speak not according to this Word, it is be- 
cause there is no light in them. Yet this does not render Con- 
fessions of Faith vain. For as there never was, perhaps, any 
book, on parts of which different senses have not been imposed, 
so the Bible has been made subject to this vanity. The most 
dangerous adversaries to the truth of the Gospel, pretend to 
establish their opinions on the holy Scriptures. This ren- 
dered it necessary that the Church should, in her Confession 
of Faith, ascertain the true sense of the Scriptures, or ex- 
plicitly declare in what sense she understood them ; and 
though it will be readily granted that she is not infallible, 
yet this doctrine of her fallibility may be, and is, carried to 
a dangerous extreme ; amounting to this, that she should put 



34 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

no sense on them at all ; or leave their meaning quite vague 
and undetermined ; that is, place them down as having any 
meaning or none. But we cannot think God's Word is in- 
volved in so much obscurity. Light is not darkness, nor 
darkness light. And where there is an honest heart, willing 
to receive the truth, with a humble dependence on the spirit 
of truth to guide into all truth, which spirit is promised to 
the Church and remains with her, the Bible is not so uncer- 
tain in its meaning as to leave room for skepticism. And it 
is altogether clear, that the difficulty is not nearly so great, 
for fallible men to decide on a system of truths and duty 
already given, as it would for these same fallible men to 
form such a system. This, however, furnishes an argument 
for candor, but not for skepticism. And it is undeniable, 
that it is the duty of the Church to search out and ascertain 
the true sense of the Scriptures. Thus a Confession of Faith 
in a Church does not make any new rule of faith and man- 
ners ; but only fixes, as far as she is able, the true sense of 
God's Word, the only rule. And making an adherence to 
the Confession of Faith in a Church a term of communion, is 
not appointing any new term of communion distinct from the 
Bible : it is only making an adherence to the Bible, in its 
true sense, the term or condition : than which nothing can 
be more proper. What do the adversaries to Confessions 
mean ? Do they mean that the Bible should have no sense 
or meaning put on it ? Or that the sense of it should be 
concealed from the unlearned ? Or that an adherence to it, 
in general, should be the only term of communion, while the 
adherents think, speak and preach as differently from each 
other, as if one preached the Alcoran and the other the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 35 

Bible ? What communion would be in .such a Church ? 
What harmony between her and the Church in heaven ? The 
adversaries to Confessions of Faith then, were they to act a 
rational and consistent part, instead of railing at Confessions 
in general, would produce a confession of their own faith, 
whatever it be : thus they would, though opposed to the 
truth, act the part of fair assailants. How absurd to in- 
volve all in darkness, as if the Bible had no sense or mean- 
ing at all ! 

When the Protestant Churches came out of mystical Baby- 
lon, they came forth with a public confession of the truth in 
their hands. The following things are noticeable with re- 
spect to the Confessions of the Protestant Churches. There 
is at least a great apparent similarity between the doctrines 
taught in them, and those taught in the holy Scriptures. 
This must be granted by any impartial observer who will 
read and compare both. There is not a doctrine taught in 
these Confessions, but some analogous text of Scripture is 
produced to support it. And as in the Scriptures, so in 
them, there is a beautiful consistency between all the parts 
throughout the whole. There is a surprising harmony be- 
tween the Confessions of all the Protestant Churches : they 
all speak the same things. Men, living in distant regions 
of the earth, speaking different languages, and strangers to 
each other's habits and customs, animated with holy zeal, 
bore testimony for God and his Christ with one heart and 
one soul. To what shall we ascribe this ? Surely their 
fathers had not taught them so. It was not the prejudice 
of education that influenced them. The true reason is, they 
had read the holy Bible impartially, as men that were 



36 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

willing humbly to receive the truths of the living God ; and 
were taught by the same spirit of God which indited the 
Scriptures. The effect was wonderful. By the plain, pun- 
gent preaching of the Gospel, antichristian Jericho trembled, 
and her walls fell flat to the ground. The nations were 
awakened from the slumbers of many hundred years, and 
began to assert both their religious and civil liberties. 
Those who had long been seeking rest and peace to their 
consciences, in popish pardons, penances, and pilgrimages, 
but all in vain, found a solid rest and certain peace, in the 
doctrines of Christ. Sweeter than honey were these doc- 
trines to them ! welcome as the new fallen manna to the 
Israelites ! and we may, without exaggeration, assert, that 
this was the beginning of all these blessings which we now 
enjoy. The foundation-stones of the fair temple of religion 
and freedom, which is now erected in Europe and America, 
were laid in the publication of these precious truths of the 
Gospel. The enslaved consciences of men, being once set 
free, and obtaining a sweet peace in the doctrines of Christ ; 
this gave a spring to the human mind, which hell and Eome 
could not resist: vigor and strength to it, to do anything, 
and bear anything, for the glory of God and good of men. 

Furthermore, these precious truths have been sealed with 
the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. In all the 
Protestant Churches many thousands have suffered unto 
death, and that for holding fast the same truths. Idolatry, 
both pagan and popish, hath ever been drunk with the blood 
of the saints. The faith of the Protestant Churches stood the 
fiery trial. In this it showed itself to be like, or rather 
the same with, the faith of the apostolic Churches, They 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 37 

overcame at both periods by the blood of the Lamb and the 
word of their testimony. It is a good maxim in states, " Often 
revert to first principles." It is equally good and proper in 
religion. Let us often revert to the principles of the refor- 
mation. Our present boasted freedom of inquiry, amounts 
to a kind of libertinism and licentiousness in thinking. 
We pretend to be an enlightened age, and to enjoy many 
superior advantages to our ancestors. It is doubtless so in 
some respects. In mathematics, natural philosophy, and 
just views of the rights of mankind, we have made progress. 
But it is well known, that a spirit of skepticism hath long 
poisoned our moral systems. And the same spirit hath in- 
vaded and in part laid waste divinity. The Israelites, after 
long enjoying the manna, said, " Our souls loathe this light 
bread." The pure and plain food of gospel doctrine, is now 
loathed by formal and lifeless professors. 

Christians have no reason to be shaken in mind by the 
new-fangled doctrines of the present age. Without entering 
into a direct argument about them, only ask, Are they more 
like the Bible doctrines, than the doctrines of the reforma- 
tion ? Is there a harmony among the visionary authors and 
projectors ? Are they not rather like the builders of Babel, 
each differing from another, and all from the truth? 
Wliereas our reformers were like the builders of Solomon's 
temple ; not the sound of a jarring ax or hammer to be heard. 
Are our innovators more pious and strictly virtuous than 
our reformers? ''By their fruits," says Christ, "ye shall 
know them." Have they stood the same trial? Has their 
faith carried them honorably through a scene of suffering 
shocking to humanity? Has it enabled them to take 



38 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

joyfully the spoiling of their goods — cheerfully to embrace 
the ignominious gibbet and burning stake ? 

Satan long endeavored to ruin the Church by persecution, 
but was frustrated in his attempt; for the blood of the 
saints was the seed of the Church. We may be certain, he 
never will be at rest for the good Word's sake, as Luther 
speaks. But since by the increasing knowledge of the rights 
of human nature, he has been so far chained, as to be re- 
strained from persecuting ; he attempts to ruin the Church 
by odious and monstrous errors. We might have argued 
before it happened, that this would be the case. Tacts con- 
firm it. He is a master in the arts of deception. He has 
the wisdom of an angel, the policy of a devil, and the skill 
of a practitioner. What a pity that professors of Chris- 
tianity should be ignorant of his devices and allow them- 
selves to be deceived by seducing spirits! When we see 
professors eagerly running after every new projector in reli- 
gion — we think we see them greedily sipping the poison of 
asps, and the venom of dragons. We do not intend, by 
this, to preclude free inquiry ; but to prevent skepticism and 
rashness in adopting new opinions. We ought not to be 
like children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with 
every wind of doctrine : ever learning and never coming to 
the knowledge of the truth. Whoever will compare the 
Westminster Confession of Faith with the Confessions of the 
other Protestant Churches, will see a striking uniformity of 
sentiment between them. The Westminster Confession and 
Catechisms are the public standards of orthodoxy in the 
Eeformed Church of Scotland. The Associate Eeformed 
Synod have declared, and now do declare, that said Confession 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 39 

and ( latechisms arc their public standards. That is, they 
adhere to the sacred Scriptures as their sense is given and 
explained in said Confession and Catechisms. The Bible 
is their testimony. The Confession of Faith ascertains the 
true light in which they view that testimony. They are 
afraid of publishing too many papers called Testimonies. 
Because these may tend to turn away our attention from the 
holy Scriptures, and fix it on human compositions. And 
they are convinced that in this manner all the trumpery of 
the Church of Borne was gradually introduced. We may 
stand safely on a branch, close by the trunk of the tree ; 
but by going out too far, the branch will bend under us, and 
we must fall. They, therefore, offer no other testimony to 
their Churches than the Bible, as explained in the Confession 
of Faith. The application of this testimony to the purpose 
of refuting schemes of error, they will attend to from time 
to time. It would be superfluous labor to give you a dupli- 
cate of the Confession in another paper called "A Testi- 
mony." But to assist you in understanding said Confession, 
the Committee of Synod submit to consideration the following 
illustrations of the doctrines and duties therein contained. 



40 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE I. 

The first chapter of our Confession treats of the holy 
Scriptures, which are a revelation from heaven, and the 
foundation of all true religion. We heartily approve of 
every remark made in this chapter on the holy Scriptures. 
There appears to be a great analogy between the works of 
God and the Word of God. As none can work like God, so 
none can speak like him. As the heavens declare his glory 
and the firmament showeth forth his handy work : as day 
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth forth 
knowledge : so the Word of God, in a still more clear manner, 
manifests his glorious nature and perfection. When one 
takes a contemplative walk in the field of nature, and beholds 
huge mountains, horrid precipices and flowing rivers; the 
earth diversified with hills and valleys, the year varied with 
summer and winter, and the revolution of day and night ; 
the vast collection of waters in the sea, the wide expanse of 
heaven, the sun pouring a flood of glory on the earth, or the 
moon and stars bespangling the heavens ; who can forbear 
exclaiming, These are thy works, thou Eternal and Om- 
nipotent ! No mind but an infinite one could conceive the 
idea of them ; no hand but an infinite one could fashion 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 41 

them. Let an honest and contemplative mind take a walk 
through the wide field of divine revelation ; and he will per- 
ceive something very similar, but superior to all this majes- 
tic scenery. It is certain, there is a sublimity, a majesty 
and grandeur in the Word of God, which proclaims it to be 
his and only his. As the works of God infinitely transcend 
the works of human art ; so the Word of God infinitely excels 
all human writings. The more we search into the works of 
men, the less wonderful they appear ; but the more we search 
into the works of God, the more grand and wonderful they 
show themselves. The first is the case with the writings of 
man ; the last with the Word of God. The analogy holds in 
another instance. There are many parts of creation and 
providence, the design and use of which we are not able so 
readily to comprehend ; and so it is in the Word of God. But 
as in God's works, the most necessary and useful parts are 
most open to view ; so in the Word, the most necessary and 
useful truths are most easily discerned. The objection 
against the historical parts of Scripture, viz : that they are 
no regular history, is of no weight ; because they were never 
intended to be a history of any man or men : but are truly a 
history of God, of his providential and gracious care about 
his Church and people ; or a history of the work of redemp- 
tion. 

This age is distinguished by an alarming diffusion and 
prevalence of deistical principles. Our thoughtless youth 
are carried away with the torrent. Too many, it is to be 
feared, take these principles for granted, without any exami- 
nation. They are flattering to man's pride of reason and 
superior understanding; but the Gospel is a humble and 



42 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

humbling scheme. They are pleasing to man's natural lusts 
and corruptions ; whereas the Gospel is pure and holy. But 
if the Scriptures be a forgery, who could forge them? Neither 
good angels nor bad ; neither good men nor bad. Not good, 
for they could not be guilty of such an audacious crime and 
offense against both God and man, as to impose on mankind 
in such a manner. Not bad, for it is impossible such a pure, 
unblemished and perfect system of religion and morals 
could come from them. 

In the Scriptures, the justest views are given of G-od and 
of man. Of man's sinful and miserable state, and of the 
way of his recovery from sin and misery to virtue and 
felicity. The inspired writers fail not to declare salutary 
but unpalatable truths ; they freely expose their own sins, 
blemishes, and imperfections ; and those of the people most 
nearly connected with them. The glory of God and the 
reformation of man are the grand scope of the inspired 
writings ; and it is evident they are adapted, by infinite 
wisdom, to creatures in a sinful and miserable condition. 
And are not all sensible, more or less, that in fact they are 
in such a condition ? It behooves us on this subject to look 
well to facts. Are the scorners of the Word of God, the 
infidels of this age, the most sober, religious, and virtuous 
part of the community ? Are they not generally the frothy, 
the proud, the irreligious, and voluptuous ? Who ever 
heard of a worshiping society of deists ? of a Church of 
religious, virtuous infidels ? In this respect we have more 
reason to fear they are generally atheists. And, in fact, 
deism is nearly allied to atheism. A very thin partition, 
if any, divides them. The transition from denying revela- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 43 

lion to practical athcim, is very short and easy. There is 
no history so fully attested as the Scripture history ; no 
facts better established than the facts recorded in the Old 
and Xew Testaments. And if once men seriously give way 
to skepticism on these, the principles of faith and credibility 
are altogether thrown loose and set afloat ; and there can be 
no consistent belief of anything. Hence, our thinking 
deists have not merely called in question the divine author- 
ity of the Scriptures — there they could not stop — but, on 
the same principles of doubt and uncertainty, have generally 
run into universal skepticism and atheism ; yea, even to the 
nonsense of discrediting the testimony of their senses, and 
becoming absolute apostates from common sense, have made 
matter nothing, spirit nothing, religion nothing, virtue 
nothing, vice nothing. 

In a word, are Christians — the men who read, study, 
understand, and believe the Scriptures, and with invincible 
faith and patience profess an adherence to them — are they 
the people who blaspheme G-od, who pollute the air with 
oaths and curses, live in whoredom, adultery, and all the 
lusts of the flesh, crowd our jails, and load our gibbets? 
Infidels ought to weigh this matter well. The tree is 
known by its fruits. Goodness is the native fruit of truth, 
because truth purifies the heart. And we fear not to affirm, 
that, in a general view, religion and virtue are entirely on 
the side of revelation. On the other hand, infidelity cor- 
rupts the heart — it poisons all the springs of action ; and 
of the most of infidels it may be justly said, that it is an 
honor to revelation that they are enemies to it, and no weak 
evidence that it is of God. 



44 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

There are only four questions respecting revelation, on 
which skepticism itself can have any place for exercise. 
First : Whether there ever were in the world such persons 
as Moses, the Hebrew Lawgiver ; and Jesus Christ, the 
divine Author of Christianity ? Secondly : Whether they 
taught the doctrines, enacted the laws, and performed the 
miracles, which in the sacred writings are ascribed to 
them ? Thirdly : On supposition they really did so, 
whether the sacred writings be a divine revelation ? 
Fourthly : Whether these writings have been handed down 
to us in a pure and uncorrupted state ? 

On all these questions, let us only admit the common 
principles of faith and credibility, and we will be perfectly 
satisfied. The subject being moral, it can admit of none 
but moral evidence. Deceitful as our fallen nature is, 
men will never make falsehood their refuge, when truth will 
gain the end proposed. And it must be an end unworthy 
of truth, which truth will not accomplish. The gentlemen 
with whom we contend, on some occasions talk highly of the 
dignity and purity of human nature ; but in this case, in 
order to discredit revelation, they degrade it below its real 
dignity. 

Let us, for a moment, attend to these questions in order. 
On the first and second, we remark : That it can not be 
denied there is such a people on earth as the Jews. That 
they are scattered abroad among all nations, and, by a 
singular providence, kept distinct from them. Our infidels 
can not deny this to be a standing miracle. There is 
nothing equal to it under the sun. And, if they look into 
the Holy Scriptures, they will see that this singular event 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 4;> 

was expressly foretold by the inspired writers : Deut. iv, 17; 
Ezek. v, 14, 15, and vi, 8, and xii, 14, 15. Jesus Christ 
expressly foretells it: Luke xxi, 14 — " And they shall fall 
by the sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gen- 
tiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. " 

It is probable, that one great design of Providence, in 
preserving the Jews a distinct people from all other nations, 
and dispersing them among them, is, that they may be living 
witnesses of the truth both of the Jewish and Christian 
religion. If they had been either wholly mixed with other 
nations, or wholly converted to Christianity, it might have 
been said, either, that there never were such a people, or 
that they never had practiced the religion delineated in the 
books of Moses ; and never had crucified Jesus Christ. But 
now that there were such a people is evident, for they still 
exist. That they practiced the religion delineated by 
Moses is evident, for they still do so, as far as possible. 
And that their fathers crucified Jesus Christ, is what the 
present Jews will freely confess. Ask the Jews whether 
they be not the descendants of Abraham, as recorded in the 
Bible ? Whether they be not, to this day, circumcised as 
he was ? Whether they do not observe the seventh day of 
the week as a sacred rest ? Whether they do not acknowl- 
edge the writings of Moses and the prophets to be a divine 
revelation ? Whether they do not firmly believe their 
fathers went down into Egypt to sojourn there, and were 
much oppressed with hard bondage ? Whether Moses did 
not say he was sent of God to deliver them, and, in proof of 
this, performed many signs in Egypt, and miracles in the 



46 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

field of Zoan ? Whether they do not, to this day, observe 
something like the passover, in commemoration of the 
destroying angel passing by their houses, while he slew all 
the first-born of the Egyptians ? Ask whether they do not 
firmly believe, that Moses conducted their fathers through 
the Eed Sea, fed them with manna in the wilderness, and 
gave them water from the flinty rock ? And whether, 
finally, they were not settled in the land of Canaan ? Ask 
them, whether they have not still among them an order of 
priests, and those, as they suppose, of the tribe of Levi — as 
far, at least, as they are able, in their dispersions, to keep 
up a distinction of tribes ? Whether Moses and the 
prophets be not read still in their Synagogues every Sab- 
bath day ? Whether they do not still commemorate with 
thankfulness, their deliverance from Hainan's conspiracy, 
and from Babylon by Cyrus the illustrious prince of Persia ? 
To all these interrogations they will readily answer in the 
affirmative. Xsk them, if they have any suspicion that their 
ancestors deceived them, in handing down these informations, 
writings, observances, customs and rites to their posterity ? 
They will answer, none. And that they could propose no 
end to be gained by such a deception ; yea, that such a de- 
ception was impossible, for they would justly remark, that a 
whole generation of men does not go off the stage at once, 
and another as abruptly come on. That God has, for wise 
purposes, ordered it otherwise. That there are three or four, 
and in some instances more generations on the stage at once. 
That this is true, not only in particular family-lines, but a 
great number of these families being associated together in a 
nation or church, the intermixture is still nearer and greater: 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 47 

so that old men, middle aged, young men, and children, with 
all the different gradations between them, or various degrees 
of approximation to each other, meet, talk, and freely con- 
verse together at one time. Mankind thus become like a 
marvelously interwoven chain, the links of which blend and 
intermix, some stretching a longer, some a shorter length on 
the chain. And hence the light or knowledge of one gene- 
ration safely and easily descends by short transitions, unto 
the succeeding. And it cannot be an easy matter to impose 
a forgery on a whole nation, especially in its national 
concerns, such as its laws, its worship, its religious rites 
and customs. 

It must indeed be impossible to persuade a whole nation, 
that a book of laws published yesterday by an impostor, 
importing that said book contains the statutes and laws of 
the nation, enacted and observed from the time of its first 
formation, was really the system of the national statutes, 
while no one living had ever heard of such a book, or of such 
laws and statutes before. But if the book should also con- 
tain a great number of rites and ordinances of worship, which 
it affirmed, were the national modes of worship, from the be- 
ginning of the nation, while no person living had ever heard 
of or seen such rites and ordinances, it would be still more 
impossible to impose it. But the argument rises superior to 
all possibility of doubt, if the same book mentioned a number 
of miraculous and wonderful facts, as having been certainly 
done in the nation by its Lawgiver, in order to induce it to 
accept said system of statutes and religious institutions ; and 
also many monuments of these facts, said to have been re- 
tained and practiced in the nation, from its first formation 



48 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

down to the very day in which the impostor published his 
book ; while nobody living had ever heard of these facts before, 
and none had ever practiced the memorials, nor heard of the 
monuments of them until then ; surely it would be impossible 
to impose such a forgery on a nation. All the above supposi- 
tions are realities in the books of Moses ; as will be readily 
seen by any who read them. The books of Moses contain 
the laws of the Jewish nation, the rites and institutions of 
their national worship, and an account of the stupendous 
miracles performed by Moses in the sight of all men, to prove 
his divine commission. And said books institute and ordain 
a number of observances, as monuments of the principal facts ; 
which monuments were to be kept up in the nation in remem- 
brance of the facts, and were immediately reduced to practice, 
and continue to this day ; such as circumcision, the passover, 
and the Sabbath ; and the books mention them as all along 
so used and practiced. How then could the Jews have re- 
ceived the book of an impostor as true, which said these 
things were so, if they were not so ? All which may lead 
up the mind to an absolute certainty, on the first and second 
questions respecting Moses, and show clearly that there 
really was such a lawgiver as Moses, and that he taught the 
doctrines, enacted the laws, and performed the miracles 
ascribed to him in his books, and therefore that these books 
are genuine. 

The miracles wrought by Moses, were performed openly 
before the Hebrews and the Egyptians. They were such as 
the senses of men were proper to decide about. And it was 
purely by the undeniable evidence of these that he estab- 
lished his character as one sent from God to deliver his 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 49 

brethren. By the evidence of the same alone, he introduced 
the severe laws and laborious worship instituted in his books ; 
which the Jews observe as far as possible to this day. They 
were so well satisfied as to the certainty of these facts, that 
they never scrupled to admit national monuments of them. 
All of which they observed down to the time of Christ, and 
some of which remain among them to this day, and their 
faith in the whole is unalterably firm and unshaken. 

The same observations, as above, may be made concerning 
Christ, as well as Moses. It will not be denied, that there 
are in the world at present such a people as these called 
Christians, after Christ. And it is equally certain there 
have been such above seventeen hundred years. Josephus, 
a Jewish historian, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ceisus, Pliny, heathen 
writers, mention them ; and an innumerable company of 
Christian writers. They may ask the Jews and Mahomet- 
ans, they are not unbelievers on this head. They will tell 
them that beyond all doubt, there was such a person as 
Jesus Christ, from whom Christians receive their denomina- 
tion, who taught religion and virtue, and worked wonderful 
signs in Judea, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the 
Eoman governor. The principal facts recorded in the Xew 
Testament, have been allowed to be true, by Julian, by the 
Jews, and all others, the greatest enemies of Christianity ; 
and indeed they cannot be denied, without rejecting all 
faith human and divine. It must also be allowed that 
baptism and the Lord's supper have been dispensed; the 
first day of the week observed as a Sabbath ; and a succes- 
, sion of Christian ministers kept up, ever since Christ's 

death and resurrection, because the authentic writings of 
4 



50 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

both friends and foes to Christianity, in every age since that 
time to this present, testify it. Nor can it be denied, that 
these are monuments of the principal facts recorded in the 
New Testament. Baptism and the Lord's supper, are monu- 
ments of the Redeemer's death, and point out the blessed 
fruits of it. The sacred rest on the first day of the week is 
a monument of his resurrection. The G-ospel ministry a 
continued fulfillment of Christ's word, " Go into all the 
world and preach the Gospel to every creature ; Lo ! I am 
with you always even unto the end of the world." The 
facts of which these are monuments, and many other facts 
recorded in Scripture were clone openly before the world ; 
and were of such a nature, that of their certainty the eyes 
and ears of men were witnesses and proper judges. The 
history of the Gospel could never have been received if it had 
not been true ; because baptism, the holy supper, and the 
first day, Sabbath, are therein mentioned, as being not only 
instituted by Christ, but also practiced and observed all 
along from his time ; and it is fully as impossible to persuade 
men that they had been baptized, had celebrated the holy 
supper in remembrance of Christ's death, and observed the 
first day of the week as a memorial of his resurrection ; had 
baptized their children and taught them to show forth the 
.Redeemer's death and sanctify the Sabbath, if they had not 
seen and done any of these things, as it would be to persuade 
them that they lodged every night in the center of the 
earth, or were eye-witnesses of the stars all falling from 
heaven; or indeed of anything the most false and absurd. 
But without being conscious of the truth of these things, it 
was impossible that the Gospel could be believed or received. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 51 

Were it necessary it might be added here, that the numera- 
tion of time from the birth of Christ, in use with many na- 
tions, is an undeniable fact which contributes its evidence to 
the same important truths. 

The first and second questions being thus put beyond a pos- 
sibility of doubt ; the third is whether, on supposition that 
there were really such men as Moses and Jesus Christ, and 
that they published the doctrines, enacted the laws, and 
performed the miracles ascribed to them in their books ; 
these books be a divine revelation ? and this question is 
readily answered. Admitting the truth of the miracles 
performed by Moses and Christ, which are the matters of 
fact, of which men were eye and ear-witnesses : this necessa- 
rily follows. It is certain Moses and Christ, both declared 
they came from God ; and that the doctrines they taught, 
the precepts they enjoined were a discovery of the mind and 
will of God. Omnipotence ratified their testimony by the 
miracles which they had power and authority from God to 
work. But God would never manifest his infinite power to 
attest and propagate what was false. It is also corroborat- 
ing on this head to observe, that all their doctrines and 
precepts are such as are truly worthy of God, and indeed, 
many of them, so sublime, heavenly, benevolent and grand, 
as could never have entered the mind of man without inspi- 
ration from God ; and the whole so contrary to man's corrupt 
nature, that the world persists in opposing, contradicting 
and blaspheming them to this day. 

The authenticity of the books of Moses and the Gospels 
being established, the writings of the prophets and apostles 
are established of course. The writings of the prophets 



52 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

were intended to keep Israel closely to the law of Moses. 
The j predict the terrible judgments that should come on the 
nation for their disobedience ; and the prosperity they 
should enjoy if obedient : the fulfillment of which predictions, 
in their minutest circumstances, clearly proves their writings 
to be divinely inspired. The writings of the apostles are in- 
tended to keep Christians closely to the law of Christ; and that 
law is substantially the same with the law of Moses, for Christ 
declares he came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to 
fulfill them. Also the great object of revelation, the almighty 
Saviour and salvation through him to perishing sinners, is con- 
stantly kept in view through both. The very law given by 
Moses was subservient to this. It was a schoolmaster to con- 
duct to Christ. All the sacrifices pointed to his sacrifice. The 
brazen serpent, the manna, the smitten rock which supplied 
the people with water, prefigured him. Our fathers, says Paul, 
all passed through the sea. etc.. and did all eat the same spiri- 
tual meat and drank the same spiritual drink ; for they drank 
of that rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. 
The prophets speak of the dignity of his person, of the man- 
ner, time and place of his appearance in the world, of the 
blessed fruits of it, particularly the conversion of the Gentile 
nations, of his sufferings and ignominious death, and the 
happy issue of all, in the language of ecstasy ! "Whoever 
will read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, on the sufferings 
of Christ, and many other chapters of that book, respecting 
the conversion of the G-entiles, and consequential blessings ; 
and compare them with the events recorded in the Xew 
Testament ; will perceive the Old Testament and Xew mutu- 
ally confirming and confirmed by each other. The Old fore- 



WESTMIXSTKU CONFESSION OF FAITH. 53 

tolls the facts recorded in the New: and the New is a history 
of the fulfillment of these facts which were predicted in 
the Old. This is indeed the more sure word of prophecy 
mentioned by the apostle Peter ; more sure than the singu- 
lar manifestation of the glory of Christ, with which he and 
others were favored on the holy mount of transfiguration. 

It is more than astonishing that any man should imagine 
the Bible to be an imposture. One design is evidently pros- 
ecuted throughout the whole, viz : the glory of God and the 
salvation of men to virtue and felicity. The plan therein 
laid down and prosecuted, is like one stupendous arch, con- 
sisting of many parts, but all these constituting one great 
whole and each part depending on another. An arch, one 
pillar of which stands on eternity past, if we may use the 
expression, the other on eternity to come, and comprehending 
within its sweep all time and all eternity ! Who built this 
arch, what mind could form the plan of it, what hands exe- 
cute the work ? Xone but his who built the arch of heaven. 
Men who could conceive such a plan and unanimously pros- 
ecute such a design, must have been inspired by the Spirit of 
God. And how is it possible that deceivers, living in such 
distant ages, could unite their counsels so harmoniously to 
delude the world ? Could Moses and Paul lay their heads 
together for this purpose *? If impostors, each of them must 
have had a separate scheme of deception. AVe see this is 
verily the case with all impostors in the Christian Church, 
and others out of it in our day. 

In thinking on this subject we should add to all the above 
the accomplishment of Christ's numberless predictions, such 
as Peter's denying him, Judas' betraying him, his own 



54 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

death, wliich was evidently all along a part of his own plan, 
his resurrection, the destruction of Jerusalem ; the accom- 
plishment of the predictions of his apostles, in the appearance 
and downfall of antichrist ; the amazing success of the 
Gospel, though preached by a few plain men, who instead of 
having the civil powers on their side, had the whole weight 
of their authority against them ; the universal change in 
the face of affairs introduced by Jesus Christ, who, according 
to ancient prophecy, made all things new ; a new heaven 
and a new earth, that is, a new Church and a new state of 
things throughout the heathen world ; the conversion of the 
Gentiles and rejection of the Jews, which is an amazing rev- 
olution in human affairs, and was expressly foretold long 
before it happened ; the total ceasing of sanguinary sacri- 
fices in the Church, since Christ offered himself a sacrifice ; 
which is perfectly agreeable to ancient prophecy, Dan. ix, 
"He shall confirm the covenant with many, and cause the 
sacrifice and oblation to cease ;" and what is more wonder- 
ful, that since the sufferings of Christ in the flesh, sangui- 
nary sacrifices have comparatively ceased throughout the 
world, the heathen temples have been thrown down, their 
altars demolished, their sacrifices no longer smoke, and 
Polytheism, or the adoration of numberless deities, is greatly 
abolished. If we duly consider these incontrovertible 
truths and facts, we can scarcely fail to see the perverse 
rashness of infidelity, in rejecting as fictitious, what is so 
well attested and confirmed ; and as uninteresting, what is 
so important ; and for the sake of gratifying pride and other 
lusts, running headlong to damnation. 

On the last question, whether the sacred writings have 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 55 

boon handed down to us in a pure and uncorrupted state, 
little need be said. Can their adversaries prove that they 
have been corrupted ? They can not. If the writings of the 
Old Testament were so. we should naturally expect to find 
them exceedingly flattering to the Jewish nation, and favor- 
ing their prejudices respecting' the Messiah, for whom they 
looked, and still look. But do they so ? Quite the reverse. 
The unbelieving Jews are easily confuted from their own 
writings. It is easy to show from thence, that Jesus of Xaza- 
reth, in every particular, answers to the character of the 
Messiah described in the " Old Testament writings. The 
Jews have always watched, with the utmost jealousy, over 
their sacred writings. 'When a Eomish printer, about two 
centuries ago. altered but a single letter into one almost 
similar, they raised an amazing cry against it through all 
the world. The Xew Testament also bears on the face of it 
genuine characters of authenticity. Is it not like a coun- 
terpart to the Old ? The one a prediction, and the other the 
history of its accomplishment ? Do the evangelists flatter 
themselves or others ? Do the}' even enter passionately on 
the account of the Redeemer's sufferings? Xo subject af- 
forded greater scope for pathos and warm declamation. But 
God seems to have restrained their spirits from the smallest 
degree of warmth. They coolly and simply narrate facts, 
and tell their own mistakes and blunders, and leave the 
reader to judge. Do their doctrines and precepts flatter the 
pride of men, or indulge their lusts ? The corruption of the 
originals, of either Old or Xew Testaments, by Christians, 
was totally impossible. So many copies were soon spread 
abroad, says one : such multitudes of men. learned and 



56 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

unlearned, read and heard them, that no impostor could have 
succeeded in corrupting them ; unless he could have made 
his alterations start into many thousand copies at once, 
and erased remembrance from the minds of men. And all 
along, from the time the Christian Church was formed into 
any degree of order and consistence, the New Testament 
writings are mentioned and quoted by other writers. But 
what temptation could there be to corrupt them? The 
learned enemies of Christianity would not think it worth 
their while, for they despised the whole. If professed Chris- 
tians should have attempted it, this would have stamped 
their character with infamy. And we may judge of times 
past from the present. Though professed Christians differ 
widely as to their sense of some passages in the Scriptures ; 
yet none pretend or dare presume to make an alteration of 
moment in the originals. Providence seems to watch over 
this invaluable treasure with peculiar care. 

The attributes of the Deity are gloriously manifested in 
ruling the stormy tempest and setting boundaries to the 
raging ocean : but more so in governing the turbulent and 
outrageous passions of men, to answer the most valuable 
purposes. The differences and contentions in the Church 
appear to be an ill thing ; and yet they answer, under the 
Divine government, a valuable purpose. Hereby a spirit of 
jealousy is kept awake among the contending parties, and as 
all appeal to the Scriptures for the truth of their opinions, if 
any should attempt an alteration of them, the other parties 
would soon expose them to shame and ignominy. And per- 
haps this is one reason in the unsearchable counsels of God, 
why the Jews have been continued so long in enmity and 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 57 

unbelief. They arc like watchmen guarding the Old Testa- 
ment writings with the keenest edge of jealousy. No 
alteration can be made in them without being detected and 
stigmatized. And if the Old Testament be true, it is im- 
possible the Xew can be false ; for it is a counterpart to it, 
and written by men who were educated in and firmly be- 
lieved the Old. If the Xew be true, the Old cannot be false, 
for the writers of the Old point to the truths and facts 
recorded in the Xew. That they are both true, most cer- 
tainly true, is a conclusion as well supported as any the 
human mind can form. 



58 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 



CHAPTEE II. 

Chapter second treats of G-od and the Trinity ; of every 
article of which we heartily approve. That there is a God, 
all nature proclaims aloud through all her works. We may 
be as certain of his existence as of our own. We are infal- 
libly certain we did not and could not create ourselves, and 
that we did not always exist. The reasoning is as short and 
conclusive with respect to every creature. No created thing 
could possibly create itself. Therefore there must exist an 
eternal, uncreated, necessarily existent, self-sufficient, in- 
finite, and independent Being, who created all things out of 
nothing, by his almighty power. 

It is a great ground of thankfulness, and conduces much 
to the preservation of the world, that the knowledge of this 
great foundation truth, is so easily attainable, that all na- 
tions, even the most barbarous, all men, even the most 
wicked, must acknowledge it. It is true, Grod is not the 
object of sensation. We cannot see nor touch Him. Our 
senses are too gross for anything but matter. God is a most 
pure spirit. When we converse with our fellow men, it is 
not with their bodies or the mere pieces of matter that we 
converse. No, but our spirits converse with their spirits, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 59 

though invisible to each other. In social and friendly con- 
verse there is a communion of spirits, an interchange of 
hearts. And this intercourse may be, and in many cases is, 
as intelligible and effectual without words as with them. 
Why may not our spirits then discern God and converse 
with him in his works and in his word, though we do not 
see Him with our bodily eyes? 

Eeason pronounces that God is one. The holy Scriptures 
also testify the same in the fullest manner. " Hear, Israel, 
the Lord thy God is one Jehovah." But revelation unfolds 
an incomprehensible mystery in the Godhead, viz : that God 
is Triune. This, mere unassisted reason could never have 
ascertained : but though it transcend reason, it is by no 
means contrary to it. It is perfectly consistent with reason, 
that an infinite substance, whose fullness is truly and prop- 
erly infinite, should subsist in a plurality of persons. This 
is no more incomprehensible than his eternity, necessary 
existence and self-sufficiency. Eeason suggests, that there 
may be in the Divine nature many excellencies of which we 
could have no notion, if not revealed, and which when re- 
vealed far transcend our comprehension. As God's works 
are so wonderful, reason says, that he must infinitely surpass 
all in wonder. And it would be a strong presumption against 
an account of God, pretending to be a revelation from Him, 
if it gave no information of Him but what was easily com- 
prehensible by our feeble powers. Do we find it impossible 
to comprehend the nature of a clod ; or a spire of grass ; or 
the union between our souls and bodies : and shall it be pos- 
sible, by searching to find out the Almighty ? When men 
ask, how can it be? the same question may, with equal 



60 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

propriety, be put about every thing. How can matter be ? 
How can spirit be ? How can matter and spirit be so united 
as to make but one person ? How can spirit move matter ? 
How can the volitions of the mind move the penman's fingers 
in writing ? The Scriptures have every character of a reve- 
lation from God. God knows himself infinitely well. None 
can deny that the Trinity is revealed in Scripture. And it 
is a truth fundamental to our redemption. We are well 
pleased with the account of this mystery given in our Con- 
fession of Faith, given in a few words, indeed, but these 
agreeable to Scripture. The language of God himself is 
safest here. The words used by the Holy Ghost are the 
most proper for declaring the doctrine of the Trinity. It is 
impossible for men, by strength of genius, or superior ca- 
pacity and learning, to know any more about this grand 
mystery, than the weakest Christians may know, by a dili- 
gent searching of the Scriptures. It must be received with 
the humility of faith. And as it was death to taste the 
forbidden tree, so it is death to deny this doctrine. The 
Socinian, Arian, and Sabellian heresies, evidently spring 
from diabolical pride, which will bring God himself down 
to the standard of our feeble reason. Some will ask with a 
sneer, of what use was it to men, to reveal this truth, if we 
cannot comprehend it ? Yea, they will say, on this supposi- 
tion, it is no revelation at all. We answer, it is a truth, 
that the divine Nature subsists in three distinct persons ; 
and this truth is essentially the foundation of redemption ; 
and therefore it is of infinite importance to know this truth ; 
though like ten thousand other truths and facts, it be not 
comprehensible. The divinity of Christ is the very corner- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 61 

stone in the foundation of the Church. Take that away and 
all is gone. Christianity is nothing: our hope perisheth. 
The glory of the Christian religion is gone forever. We 
cannot believe that the Christian Church is built on a mere 
creature ; that it is our duty to glory in the cross of a mere 
creature ; that a mere creature is able to save to the utter- 
most ; that we were baptized in the name of God and one 
or two mere creatures. These horrible absurdities may suit 
the pride and enmity of men, who never felt their extreme 
need of a divine Saviour : but they are as opposite to the 
truth of the Gospel, as darkness is to light. 

It cannot be denied, that in Scripture, the same names, 
titles, attributes, works and worship, are ascribed to the Son 
and Holy Spirit, as to the Father. This is incontrovertible. 
The Bible begins with this doctrine. The divine Elohim 
created the heavens and the earth. Jehovah Elohim said, 
the man is become as one of us. The apostle testifies that 
God created the worlds by his Son, and it is said the Spirit 
of God moved on the face of the waters. And at the crea- 
tion of man, the phraseology is remarkable: " Come let us 
make man." At the destruction of Sodom, it is said, " The 
Lord rained fire on it from the Lord out of heaven." The 
form of benediction used by Moses is to the same purpose. 
" The Lord bless thee and keep thee ; the Lord lift up his 
countenance on thee and be gracious to thee ; the Lord cause 
his face to shine upon thee and give thee peace;" exactly 
corresponding with the Evangelical benediction, u The grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the love of God ; and communion 
of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." It appears, by com- 
paring Numbers xxi with 1 Corinth, x, that it was Christ 



62 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

whom the people tempted, on account of which fiery serpents 
were sent among them. And by comparing Isaiah vi chap., 
with John xii, 41, it will appear, that it was the glory of 
Christ, which the prophet saw. In the ex Psalm, the lan- 
guage is to the same purpose, " The Lord said to my Lord." 
"Go, says Christ, and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father, of the Son. and of the Holy Ghost." 
God the Father says of the Son, " I have put my Spirit upon 
him, and he shall show forth judgment to the Gentiles." 
Christ says, " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, be- 
cause he hath anointed me to preach glad tidings to the 
meek," etc. At the Eedeemer's incarnation, the Father sent 
forth his Son, and the Holy Ghost formed his human nature ; 
" The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee," etc. said the angel 
to Mary. At his baptism, the Holy Ghost descended and 
rested on him, and the Father proclaimed with an audible 
voice: " This is my beloved Son," etc. And in 1 John v, 7, 
this great truth is testified in the fullest manner: "There 
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, 
and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." It is true, 
we are told this text is not in some ancient manuscripts, 
and thence it is inferred, that it must be spurious. But this 
is running too fast, the same truth is taught in many other 
texts. It is most probable that these ancient manuscripts, 
in which this glorious text is omitted, have been manufac- 
tured by some daring Arian or Socinian ; for it is well known, 
that men of these principles use uncommon liberties with the 
Word of God to this day, and are not afraid to tell us, that 
though it could be proved, the doctrine of the Trinity is re- 
vealed in Scripture, they would not believe it. Have ever 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 63 

the humble disciples of Jesus spoken so ? It is, therefore, 
easy to judge which of the two characters was most likely to 
falsify God's Word, the believer, by interpolation, or the 
blaspheming Arian, by omission ; and we doubt not to affirm, 
that Arians, Socinians, and Deists, are brethren in iniquity, 
and engaged in the same cause. 

Some modern divines have alledged, that Jesus Christ is 
denominated the Son of God, only from his mediatorial office ; 
others have supposed the title to arise from his incarnation 
and resurrection. Of such a grave subject it becomes us not 
to give way to vain philosophy or curious speculations, but 
with all humility to investigate the mind of God in his 
Word, and with that to rest perfectly satisfied. These ex- 
plications are only an attempt to accommodate the doctrine 
of the Trinity to our feeble reason and comprehension, which 
is utterly vain ; it will eternally transcend created compre- 
hension : Who can by searching find out God? Christ's 
Sonship originates not in office, or anything appertaining to 
office, but in nature. He ever was, and is the Son of God 
by an eternal, natural and necessary generation. " Who 
shall declare his generation," says Isaiah, chap. liii. " I 
will declare the decree," says the Son of God, " The Lord 
hath said to me, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
thee." The eternity of God hath neither past nor future, it 
is one continued day. And it follows in the same second 
Psalm, " Kiss the Son, lest he be angry." Compare this 
with Proverbs viii, 22-30, and with John i, 1-5. "The 
Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way," etc., " when 
there were no depths, I was brought forth." And this eter- 
nal Son says, Proverbs, chap, i, 23, "Turn ye at my reproof, 



64 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you;" corresponding 
with his promise often repeated with his own lips, while on 
earth, that he would send the Comforter. The Hebrew words 
translated "possessed and brought forth" point out genera- 
tion, as might be shown at large, were it proper here. And 
Proverbs xxx, 4, it is said, " What is his name, or his Son's 
name, if thou canst tell?" And in the third chapter of 
Daniel, it is said, "I see four men walking in the fire, and 
the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Micah says, 
" Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, etc., out of thee shall come he, 
etc., whose goings forth, or generation, have been of old, from 
everlasting." With what noble propriety does this idea of 
the subject, introduce the doctrine of the New Testament, 
" G-od so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
Son;" Jesus said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I 
work." The Jews sought to kill him, because he said God 
was his Father, making himself equal with God. In the 
fullness of time God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, etc.; 
and Coloss. i, 15-17, he is called the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn of every creature, for by him were all 
things created, etc. The phrase, " Prototokos pases ktisioos" 
may be translated with propriety, begotten before all crea- 
tion. And Heb. i, 2-8, it is said, " He hath spoken to us 
by his Son, by whom he made the worlds, who is the bright- 
ness of his glory, the express image of his person." These 
expressions, " He spared not his own Son ;" "No man know- 
eth the Son but the Father, nor any the Father, save the 
Son;" "The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the 
Father;" " God will have all men to honor the Son, even as 
they honor the Father;" " Moses was faithful as a servant, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 65 

but Christ as a Son, over his own house ;" " This is my 
beloved Son ;" " Last of all, he sent unto them his Son, say- 
ing, they will reverence my Son ;" certainly point out an 
eternal and incomprehensible generation, infinitely transcend- 
ing a relation depending on office, which is applicable to 
creatures, angels and men ; or on his incarnation and resur- 
rection ; though in these he was undoubtedly declared, fully 
and expressly declared to be the Son of God according to the 
Spirit of holiness. The last text we shall mention is 1 John 
v, 7: u There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, 
the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." 
The paternal character necessarily indicates the filial ; there 
cannot be a father without a son. 



66 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEK III. 

The third chapter treats of the divine decrees, on which 
there has been much disputation. Eigid Arniinians cannot 
endure the doctrine of predestination ; and in their zeal 
against it, carry on a scheme of argument ; which, could the 
thing be done by argument, would reason God out of his 
own world ; or entirely exclude him from the government of 
it, leaving the whole to man's free will, or to chance. The 
divine prescience cannot well be denied ; if this be granted, 
it involves all that any reasonable man can require on this 
subject. To deny the divine prescience is to be an Atheist. 
On the other hand, we own that some rigid predestinarians 
have argued in such a manner as would lead us to think, 
that they excluded all free agency from the rational creation, 
and maintained that man was a mere machine, and necessa- 
rily impelled by the first cause ; and of consequence that 
God is the author of moral evil, and all its fruits — than 
which nothing can be more shocking. That God does govern 
the world cannot be denied. That he governs it according 
to a plan laid in his infinite mind, cannot be doubted. 
Which plan no unforeseen accident can disconcert, because 
his infinite foreknowledge extends to all things knowable ; 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. G7 

whether possible or future. Known unto God are all his 
works from the beginning. And without this there could be 
no such thing as foretelling any future event. Prophecy 
could have no place. He who certainly foretells future 
events at a great distance, or inspires men to tell them, must 
have fixed, and must see the whole chain of subordinate 
causes necessary to the production of the event. This plan 
is only another name for the divine decrees. But there is 
another point equally clear and certain ; that man is an in- 
telligent, free, and moral agent. Every man feels himself 
free and voluntary in his volitions and actions. Many men 
know nothing at all about the divine decrees, perhaps never 
heard the term. No man can say that the decree compels 
him to anything. He acts as freely as if there were no de- 
cree ; and yet as certainly according to the divine plan, as if 
he had no freedom. Men's lusts and passions are contrary 
to the spirit and law of God, but cannot frustrate his pur- 
pose. " My counsel shall stand, says he, and I will do all 
my pleasure." " The wrath of man shall praise the Lord, 
and the remainder of wrath he will restrain." This is in- 
deed one of the deep things of God. But though our feeble 
reason be not able to comprehend the consistency between 
the divine purpose and the freedom of will in men and angels: 
who can doubt but God comprehends it well ? That these 
things are really so, we are as certain as we are of our own 
existence. We are certain that we are free agents, and 
therefore accountable and punishable for sin. But that God 
governs the world according to a plan laid in his infinite 
mind, is an intuitive perception as clear and obvious as that 
God exists. 



68 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

But cannot infinite knowledge see farther than we can ? 
Strange ! because it appears to be absurd to us ; that we 
should think it impossible with G-od. May there not be ex- 
cellencies in the divine government, as well as in the divine 
nature, which we cannot comprehend ? The decrees of God 
respecting the eternal state of angels and men. form what is 
called Predestination. It is here that Arminians muster all 
their zeal. Awful and horrible things are said against the 
doctrine of predestination. But surely its opposers must 
grant, that except all men and devils be saved, some must 
perish, and they must allow Gk>d knows who they are. The 
Lord knoweth them that are his and therefore them that are 
not his. If this foreknowledge be certain, which it undoubt- 
edly is. and if we argue the subject out fairly, it will bring 
us exactly to the very conclusion advanced by the apostle 
Paul upon the subject, in several epistles. To deny the sov- 
ereignty of G-od is to deny his being. Sin is infinitely sin- 
ful in always attempting to overthrow this. Satan said to 
Eve, Hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the 
Garden ? or what right hath he to say so ? And again. God 
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be 
opened, and ye shall be as gods. But God has displayed 
and continues to display this attribute in all his works. 
Every acorn that drops in the forest, might produce a tree ; 
but how few do so ? Might there not have been millions of 
other men and women formed, which are not ? Might not 
the savage nations on this continent, and the negroes of Af- 
rica have been favored with the light of the Gospel and the 
knowledge of the arts and sciences, and we in their state of 
barbarism ? It is very offensive to tender Christians to hear 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. G9 

any exclaiming against the divine sovereignty, which has dis- 
tinguished them so much by conferring superior privileges. 
It would not be so surprising, were the heathen to rise and 
assault the divine sovereignty, which has bestowed its gifts 
more sparingly on them ; which yet they do not. It is cer- 
tain, all denominations of Christians have been chosen to 
hear the G-ospel of Christ ; which is an unspeakable privilege ; 
and without spending time in arraigning the sovereignty of 
God, we ought to fall down and humbly adore it — that has 
done so much for us above many others — and give all dili- 
gence to make our calling and election sure ; first our calling 
and then our election. In the eighth chapter of the epistle 
to the Eomans, the apostle exhibits the golden chain of the 
believer's privileges. Whom he did foreknow, them did he 
also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son ; 
that he might be the first-born among many brethren. More- 
over, whom he did predestinate, them he also called ; and 
whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justi- 
fied, them he also glorified. Here is a chain of blessings 
reaching from all eternity to all eternity ; the links of which 
were made by God himself, and are inseparably connected in 
one another. Foreknowledge and predestination are from 
all eternity ; glorification reaches to all eternity. It is im- 
possible for us at first or immediately, to lay hold on the ex- 
treme parts ; but the middle link is within our reach ; to 
wit, our effectual calling. Let us lay hold on that. Let us 
obey the call of God's grace in the Gospel, let us accept of 
Christ as offered to us in the word of truth, and thus secure 
our calling ; and then we may draw the whole chain to us ; 



70 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

by this we shall ascertain our predestination to life, and also 
our eternal glorification. 

The doctrine of the decrees does not exclude the use of 
means. It is an appointment of heaven, to accomplish all 
the works of creation, providence and redemption, by a 
subordinate chain of secondary causes. God, the first cause 
of all things, has appointed the whole subordinate series of 
causes, and gives energy and efficacy to them. The appoint- 
ment of the end includes the appointment of the means. 
Paul's crew were to be saved ; but the means must be used ; 
the mariners must stay in the ship. Nineveh is to be saved ; 
but Jonah must pronounce the destruction which they mer- 
ited — must call them to repentance and amendment, to which 
call they must yield. 

The mariner never argues in this form : if it be ordained 
that I arrive at my intended port, I need not go on ship- 
board — for the decree will certainly bring me there. If it 
be decreed, I shall not arrive at my port, I need not go on 
shipboard ; for it is impossible I can arrive there. No. He 
knows it would be absurd to expect to arrive at his port, if 
he did not go aboard, hoist his sails, and give his vessel to the 
wind. The farmer never argues thus : if it be decreed I shall 
not have a crop, it is needless for me to plow or sow ; for I 
cannot have it. If it be decreed I shall have it, (and by- 
the-by decrees of Grod extend as much to these things as any 
other) I need not plow nor sow, for I shall have it; the 
decree will produce it. No. He knows, if it be decreed, 
that he shall have a crop, this decree must be accomplished 
in the use of means ; and the appointment of the end in- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 71 

clude3 the appointment of the means, and therefore, in the 
appointed season he plows and sows his fields, and waits 
for the divine blessing to produce the end. Let us only ap- 
ply this to the doctrine of eternal life and all is easy. Be- 
lievers are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 
Father : but it is through sanctification of the Spirit, belief 
of the truth and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus. Gospel 
hearers must know, that if they be ordained to eternal life, 
this infers the necessity of believing in Christ, repenting of 
sin, and practicing universal holiness. 

Predestination is a very high and awful doctrine, and 
ought to be studied with deep humility and reverence. But 
it is, when well understood, and taken in connection with the 
other blessings of the covenant, a great source of consolation 
to believers. Finally, G-od's decrees are not and cannot be 
the rule of our duty ; because secret and never to be known 
but by their accomplishment, except in the case of immediate 
revelation, which has no place here. Men may form designs 
quite opposite to them, and be applauded ; as in the case of 
David resolving to build the temple, which yet was not ap- 
pointed for him, but for his son. Men may act agreeably to 
them, and yet be most justly condemned, as in the case of 
the Jews crucifying the Lord of glory. He was delivered 
into their hands by the determinate counsel and foreknowl- 
edge of God, and yet with most wicked hands they crucified 
and slew him. The revealed will of God, then, is the only 
standard of right and wrong — the only rule by which sin and 
duty must be determined. 



72 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE IV. 



ON CREATION 



"When any person of the least turn for contemplation, be- 
holds the starry heavens, and the various revolutions, seasons 
and productions of this terraqueous globe, he cannot forbear 
inquiring, How came they into existence? And he will 
naturally ask, How came I myself into being ? I did not al- 
ways exist. I did not, could not create myself. Who then 
formed this body, consisting of so many members, and all so 
finely proportioned and adapted to various purposes ? Who 
formed the spirit within me, and gave me this power of per- 
ception and volition ? It should enhance our esteem of the 
Bible, that it is the only book in the world which gives a 
satisfactory answer to these queries. It opens with a majes- 
tic account of the work of creation. By Jehovah's omnipo- 
tent word all things sprang into existence, order and har- 
mony. " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, 
and all the host thereof by the breath of his mouth. " " For 
he spake and it was done, he commanded and it stood fast." 
He said, " Let there be light and there was light." This 

* The Hebrew word rakiahgh is derived from the verb rakahgh, 
which signifies to spread out, expand, or extend ; the noun is trans- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 73 

gives us an idea of power truly divine. Some fanciful writers 
have endeavored to accommodate the work of creation to 
the slow, the reptile operations of their reason, and exhibited 
theories dishonorable to the Word of God. This is more pre- 
posterous and absurd than if an ant should attempt to correct 
the Newtonian system. An act of Jehovah's will accom- 
plished the whole ; and this act was as sufficient to have pro- 
duced all in a moment as in many days or years. There are 
two decisive ways of reasoning ; the one from first principles, 
which cannot be controverted — the other from facts. Xow 
there is nothing in the account which Moses gives of the gen- 
eration of the heavens and the earth, but what is perfectly 
consistent with every just and rational idea of the divine 
attributes. Infinite wisdom, infinite power, and immense 
goodness, were certainly sufficient to perform the whole, and 
in the time mentioned, too ; there can be no rational doubt of 
this. And let any impartial and candid reasoner peruse the 
account, and compare it with facts, with what he sees and 
feels, and he cannot entertain a doubt of its truth. Do not 
the heavens and the earth continue as Moses represents the 
divine fiat establishing them ? If he had spoken at random 
or without the direction of the spirit of God, would he not 
have blundered in some parts of his narrative, so that the 
lapse of four or five thousand years would have detected his 
fallacy? Or would not God, to detect an impostor, have 

lated firmament, which firmament, it is said, divided the waters 
from the waters. By this is probably meant the atmosphere, which 
is of infinite use both to refract and reflect the light, and also to 
bear up the dew, the clouds and waters necessary to refresh and 
fructify the earth, 

a 



74 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

taken some method to confute his doctrine ? Is not the con- 
tinuance of different sexes among the various kinds of ani- 
mals, and the equality of the number of each sex, a continued 
effect of the appointment of heaven ? And is not the con- 
tinual propagation of each species, the constant effect and 
operation of that command and blessing, " Be ye fruitful and 
multiply and replenish the earth ? " etc. And man's domin- 
ion over the earth and seas and the inhabitants thereof, is a 
continued fulfillment of the divine decree or omnipotent fiat, 
" Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls 
of the air, and over every living thing that moveth on the 
earth." The division of time into weeks, and the sanctifi- 
cation of the seventh part of time, is a fact that has never 
failed since the creation, and will not cease until the heavens 
and the earth be no more. To what shall we ascribe this in 
such a shifting, changing world as ours ? to what, but to the 
omnipotent word of God. This is a fact immediately con- 
nected with creation, and leads us up to it in a moment ; 
and one would think is altogether decisive on this subject to 
justify Moses' account of it. There is another fact which, 
though it do not so naturally fall in here, yet we shall men- 
tion in this place ; man, according to the account of Moses, 
was deceived by Satan in the form of a serpent, and enmity 
was put between the seed of the woman and seed of the ser- 
pent. Is not the general horror which men feel at the sight 
of serpents a continued fulfillment of this Word ? We may 
add, is not the general perception of the propriety and 
decency of the marriage-covenant existing between one man 
and one woman only, with the blessing attending it ; and 
the direful effects following on the contrary practice, a fact 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 75 

correspondent to the first institution of marriage as narrated 
by Moses ? " He made them male and female ; and there- 
fore shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his 
wife." And does not the course of nature, in producing 
nearly an equal number of each sex, show, that the same 
God who created the world, governs it, as narrated by 
Moses ? 

Though it do not so immediately refer to this subject, yet 
as it tends to corroborate the evidence of the truth of the 
Mosaic history from facts, we shall mention another thing. 
It is undeniable, that in all countries there are monuments 
of the flood recorded by Moses ; or appearances which can not 
be accounted for, on any other hypothesis. And the truth of 
this fact seems to have been almost universally acknowledged 
by the heathen nations. Ovid, a heathen poet, has written a 
poem on it. And what uninspired man, or what man that 
was not certain he had the mind of God on the subject, 
would have ventured his character, as Moses has done in 
these words — Gen. viii, 21, 22 : " And the Lord said in his 
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's 
sake, neither will I smite any more every living thing as I 
have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and har- 
vest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day 
and night, shall not cease." And the prophet Isaiah must 
have had a full conviction of the truth of this ; for he r pre- 
sents Jehovah as saying, " This is as the covenant of Xoah 
unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Xoah should 
no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would 
not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee." Xow we see both 
prophets venturing their characters on it. But since a flood 



76 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

of waters had once overwhelmed the earth, how were they 
certain it would not do so again ? how, but by the inspira- 
tion of God's Spirit. But Xoah's covenant intimates, at least 
implicitly, the destruction of the earth at last. It runs thus : 
" While the earth remaineth." And the Xew Testament 
prophets assure us this destruction will be accomplished by 
fire. And who can doubt the truth of these declarations of 
Moses ? — " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely 
die." And to the woman he said, " I will greatly multiply 
thy sorrow and thy conception ; in sorrow shalt thou bring 
forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband and 
he shall rule over thee." And to Adam he said, " Cursed 
is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it 
all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it 
brin,g forth to thee ; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread, until thou return unto the ground ; for dust thou art, 
and unto dust shalt thou return." And the Hebrew law- 
giver records, that Abel offered the firstlings of his flock and 
the fat thereof, or sanguinary sacrifices ; and it is an incon- 
testable fact that all nations, even the most barbarous, before 
the incarnation of Christ, were employed in offering such 
sacrifices, which practice no doubt was deduced from Adam 
and Abel. 

Eeason teaches, that a being infinitely good, as God must 
necessarily be, would create all things very good. Kevela- 
tion fully ascertains and confirms this fact. But perhaps 
it is refining too much on this subject to say, " that of all 
possible systems, God behooved to create the best. It looks 
too much like the doctrine of the ancient stoics concerning 
fate, by which fate, they said. God himself was bound ; and 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 77 

we fear it has led some into the dangerous opinions, or at 
least is nearly connected with them, " That God is the 
author of sin, that sin has been of great service to the 
world, and that we should be thankful for sin, etc." 

God is the fountain of reason and volition, therefore he 
must be an intelligent and voluntary agent, and in all his 
works free and sovereign. And though it was impossible 
that he could create any being in a state of moral depravity, 
or with any sinful defect, yet he bestowed such a degree of 
perfections and powers on his creatures as seemed good and 
proper in his sight. There is a striking gradation in the 
scale of existence, so far as we are able to observe it, from 
nothing up to man ; and from analogy it is natural to sup- 
pose, that the gradation ascends from man up through the 
spiritual and invisible world. But supposing it infinitely 
extended, it is impossible it can ever come near to infinite 
perfection ; for there must be an infinite distance between 
the most glorious and exalted creature, and the Creator him- 
self. He charges his angels with folly. Man was created 
holy and upright, but free. God, as was most meet, would 
be served by him not of necessity but choice ; and so he 
must be served by all rational and intelligent creatures. 
And beside the moral image of God impressed on his rational 
soul, man was appointed lord and governor of this earth, 
and the other creatures were subject to his dominion. In 
fine, he was ordained the priest of nature, to offer unto God 
continually, the sacrifices of praise due from himself and 
the subordinate creation ; and by the divine faculty of 
reason, he was enabled to employ all the elements, and 
many of the other creatures in his service. 



78 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTER V 



OF PROVIDENCE. 



God, who made all things by the word of his power, also 
sustains, rules and governs them by his providence. Hav- 
ing laid his plan for the government of the world in his 
own infinite-jnind, He invariably adheres to that plan, and 
by his providence fully executes it. The doctrine of divine 
Providence is very full in the holy Scriptures : and is per- 
fectly harmonious with sound reason. It extends to our 
minutest concerns ; to the minutest creatures ; the very 
hairs of our head are numbered ; a sparrow can not fall to 
the ground without our heavenly Father. He feedeth the 
ravens, and gives the young lions their prey. With infinite 
ease he plants and plucks up ; builds and pulls down king- 
doms and empires. His providence extends even to these 
events, which we call fortuitous or accidental, as is manifest 
from the little and apparently fortuitous incidents in the 
history of Joseph, on which the grand conclusion depended, 
and also from many other passages of Scripture. There is 
this excellency visible in the lives of the Old Testament 
saints, that they appear to have walked with God, in a firm 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 79 

persuasion of his universal presence and universal provi- 
dence. Not a blessing conferred, but they acknowledge to 
be of God. Xot a trial sent in their way, but is owned to 
be of Him. At the same time they were not strangers to 
the subordinate chain of secondary causes. This is clearly 
taught in the Old Testament writings ; particularly in that 
beautiful passage of the prophet, where the supreme Gov- 
ernor is represented as saying, " I will hear the heavens ; 
and the heavens shall hear the earth ; and the earth shall 
hear the corn, the wine, and the oil ; and they shall hear 
Jezreel." 

Divine Providence reaches even to the sinful actions of 
angels and men, and that not by a bare permission ; but 
such a permission as includes a powerful bounding and 
otherwise ordering and governing them, in a manifold dis- 
pensation, to answer his own holy ends ; yet so that God is 
infinitely pure and free from the blame of man's sin ; which 
sin is entirely and only of the creature. How clearly is 
this truth taught in that marvelous text : " Him, being 
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
God, have ye taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
slain." It is the glory of divine providence, that the dis- 
pensations thereof are always adapted to the moral state 
and character of nations, either in the way of mercy or 
judgment. That it produces good out of evil ; as in the 
case of the sufferings and death of Christ, and also the 
temptations, falls, and sufferings of his own children, and 
makes all things in the kingdom of nature and grace sub- 
servient to the good of the Church, which is the mystical 
bodv of Christ. 



80 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE VI. 



OF THE FALL OF MAX. 



That man is a sinful and miserable creature, can not be 
denied by the greatest infidel. Though a most wise, holy, 
and good Grod governs the world, yet the cup of misery which 
all men must drink, is large, wide, and deep. Man is evi- 
dently under the curse. It affects his health, life, property, 
and liberty. And the various relations in which we stand 
to each other, which were instituted originally to be springs 
of felicity, are really, in many instances, sources of misery. 
The earth and elements are cursed for man's sake, and the 
whole creation groans under this curse. But wherever 
natural or penal evil is, certainly moral evil must be the 
cause of it ; and all men are conscious, more or less, of guilt. 
But it is clear God could not create men in a sinful and mis- 
erable state ; nothing evil could proceed from the infinite 
fountain of all goodness ; man, therefore, must have fallen. 
He has revolted from his Creator ; has rebelled against his 
almighty Lord and Sovereign. " Be astonished, heavens," 
says Grod, " be ye horribly afraid, be ye very desolate ; I 
have nourished and brought up children, and they have 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 81 

rebelled against me. The ox knowctli his owner, the ass 
his master's crib, but my people do not know ; Israel doth 
not consider. The whole head is sick," etc. It is the Bible 
alone which gives us a satisfactory account of the fall of man. 
Unassisted reason assents to the fact that he is fallen, but 
could never have investigated the manner how. According 
to the scriptural account, Adam and Eve were seduced by 
the temptation of Satan ; and doubting God's title to sove- 
reign dominion over them, and questioning the veracity of 
the threatening, they did eat the forbidden fruit ; which act, 
circumstanced as it was, included the nature of all sin in it. 
By this they lost their original rectitude, and became obnox- 
ious to the penalty, which is death. There is a threefold 
connection between sin and misery. First, natural : for as 
the earth in its diurnal course, by turning its face from the 
sun, is necessarily involved in darkness ; so a rational crea- 
ture, turning from God, is as necessarily involved in spirit- 
ual darkness and death. Secondly, in respect of demerit : 
" The wages of sin is death." Thirdly, by a divine appoint- 
ment : for God hath said, " The soul that sinneth shall die." 
It is an established law of nature that all creatures propa- 
gate others like themselves. In agreeableness to this law, 
it is said of Adam, after his lapse, that " he begat a son in 
his own likeness." Here is a manifest distinction — Adam 
himself was created after the likeness or image of God ; but 
in his fallen state begets a son after his own likeness. All 
men were originally and radically in the first Adam ; as the 
root, the trunk, the branches, and the fruit of the oak are 
contained in the acorn. And what is all the posterity of 
the first man, but this tree fully grown and its branches 



82 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

fully spread? Beside, it is clear from God's Word, that the 
first pair represented all their posterity in the federal trans- 
action between G-od and them. This is the reason why the 
Apostle runs a parallel between Adam and Christ. " As by 
one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the 
obedience of one shall many be made righteous. As in Adam 
all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive. The first 
Adam is of the earth, earthly ; the second, the Lord from 
heaven. The first Adam was made a living soul," and ap- 
pointed to transmit that life to his posterity by obedience ; 
in which he failed, and so lost his life and theirs : " But 
the second is made a quickening spirit," to quicken the 
dead, or give life to them that believe in him. See this 
truth more fully displayed, Bom. chap. v. We think this 
doctrine is well expressed in our Catechism: M The covenant 
being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his pos- 
terity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary gene- 
ration, sinned in him and fell with him in his first trans- 
gression." Original sin is no fiction, but a sad reality. "We 
may see it everywhere, and feel it every day. Even the 
saints of the Most High complain justly of sin dwelling in 
them. Men before conversion are dead in trespasses and 
sins. Their hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful 
above all things. And from this depraved, wicked nature 
in them proceed all actual transgressions. "Out of the 
heart do proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc." 
It would be well if the advocates for the dignity and per- 
fection of human nature would deeply consider this point — 
whether the state of facts throughout the world do not fully 
agree with the scriptural account of the depravity of human 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 83 

nature. And this is the more requisite, that on this princi- 
ple alone it is that we shall see the propriety of the doctrine 
of regeneration, and of justification through the righteous- 
ness of Christ. No wonder that such deluded men reject 
the last, when they have no perception of the first. Alas ! 
what a pity that souls should perish by the pride of their 
hearts, which will not permit them to believe that they are 
in danger. The strength of sin lies in its power to deceive ; 
and it is worthy of notice, that while these men deny the 
depravity of human nature, they themselves are the strong- 
est instances and proofs of it: not to mention that such 
proud men are never more remarkable for strict virtue than 
those of the opposite opinion. What can be more wicked 
than to call G-od a liar ? What more so, than to spurn re- 
deeming love, trample under foot redeeming blood, and do 
despite to the Spirit of grace ? Surely such a carnal mind 
must be enmity against God, and is not subject to his law, 
neither indeed can be. The sinfulness and misery of man's 
natural state are well represented in our Catechisms, to 
which we refer, and earnestly obtest all deeply to ponder. 



84 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE VII. 

of god's covenant with man. 

Some have questioned whether God entered into a proper 
covenant with the first Adam. But what has been alleged 
against this, in our opinion, amounts to mere caviling. It 
is expressly taught, Hosea vi, 7, "But they, like Adam, 
have transgressed the covenant." It is manifestly taught 
in the parallel run between Adam and Christ. It cannot be 
denied that God the Father made a covenant with his Son 
Christ, for it is expressed in innumerable passages; and 
wherein can the parallel hold between Adam and Christ, 
but in a covenant transaction or federal representation? 
There was evidently in the first covenant a condition of life 
stated — a threatening of death in case of disobedience, and 
a promise of life in case of obedience, annexed. And it was 
impossible that Adam could withhold his consent from such 
a righteous, yea gracious proposal. 

We will readily grant there was not every requisite here 
that must take place in a covenant between equals. God's 
title to man's obedience is not founded on contract only, but 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 85 

on nature. Previously to all contract man owed obedience ; 
but there was just such a covenant as could take place be- 
tween parties so distant from each other as the infinite 
Creator and the creature. And we heartily agree with our 
Confession, which says, the distance between God and the 
creature is so great, that though reasonable creatures do owe 
obedience to him as their Creator, yet they could never have 
any fruition of him as their happiness and reward, but by 
some voluntary condescension on his part, which he hath 
been pleased to express by way of covenant. We testify 
that man by the breach of this covenant forfeited a title to 
every benefit, temporal and spiritual; is a child of wrath 
and exposed to misery. And though the covenant seems to 
have secured his existence and that of his posterity, even if 
the Mediator had not interposed, yet it must have been an 
existence loaded with Jehovah's curse ; such an existence as 
the damned in hell have — an existence without God and 
without hope. It would have been better for them, in that 
case, if they never had been born ; and it would not alter 
the case much, whether men were supported in existence 
under the curse of God by the immediate exertions of divine 
power, or by the exertions of the same power in a mediate 
way, by giving them rain and fruitful seasons, with all the 
productions of the folds and fields, if equally destitute of the 
divine favor and without hope. 

OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 

Man, by his fall, has thus destroyed himself, and can do 
nothing for his own recovery : he is dead in trespasses and 



86 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 

sins. But ! what ground of praise and eternal gratitude, 
that G-od has devised a way for our recovery ! a marvelous 
way ! a way worthy of Gk>d, honorable to him, and safe for 
us ! He entered into a covenant with his own Son Jesus 
Christ, for this purpose; appointed him the surety and 
Mediator of this better covenant; which office the Son of 
G-od freely undertook. The condition of the covenant he, in 
due time, fulfilled, in his active and passive obedience. The 
price of our redemption he paid ; and to him were the 
promises made ; even these precious promises, respecting the 
salvation of sinners: Isaiah liii, "If thou wilt make his 
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. Psalm 
lxxxix, I have made a covenant with my chosen, etc. Thy 
seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all 
generations. " As in the unction of Aaron, the oil poured 
on his head, descended to the skirts of his garments ; so the 
promises, like a sacred oil, were poured on the head of Jesus 
Christ in this covenant, and descend from him to the lowest 
members of his mystical body. There is no salvation to 
men but in this covenant. It was, therefore, soon revealed 
to Adam after his fall, and was renewed again and again 
with the patriarchs, under various emblems. The covenant 
with Xoah, securing the world from a second deluge ; of cir- 
cumcision with Abraham, promising the land of Canaan to 
his posterity ; of an everlasting priesthood with Phineas ; of 
royalty with David, were all types of it. This covenant was 
administered to the Jewish Church, in promises and predic- 
tions of the coming of Christ, and in a great variety of 
sacrifices, all pointing to the great atoning sacrifice which 
the Son of God was about to offer. But, since the coming 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 87 

of Christ, it is administered in a more simple way: in the 
preaching of the Gospel, and dispensation of the sacraments 
of baptism and the Lord's supper. Without doubt, there- 
fore, the Jewish Church was under the same covenant; 
enjoyed the same Gospel in substance, which we are under 
and enjoy; and was saved by faith in the same name. 
There are two different dispensations, but one and the same 
covenant. And if any were saved at all under the law, as 
doubtless there were many, it was, of necessity, by the 
covenant of grace ; for there is no salvation by any other. 
" There is no name given under heaven, or among men, but 
the name of Jesus, b}^ which men could or can be saved." 
And we cannot approve the distinction between the covenant 
of redemption and the covenant of grace. It does not seem 
to have any warrant from the Word of God. The apostle 
knew only two covenants — that of works and that of grace. 
— Gal. iv. The distinction above mentioned might pass 
unnoticed, were it not for the bad improvement thereof. 
In every proper covenant we must find a condition and a 
promise. According to this distinction, the righteousness 
of Christ will be the condition of the covenant of redemp- 
tion. What, then, must be the condition of the covenant 
of grace ? No doubt, faith ; and some add repentance. 
But, it is clear, these are promised blessings of that cov- 
enant by which men are saved, and so can not be the 
proper condition. " By grace ye are saved, through faith; 
and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God." Christ is 
exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto 
Israel, and the remission of sins. To make faith alone, or 
faith and repentance conjoined, the proper condition of the 



88 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

covenant of grace, leads us away from free grace unto 
another Gospel. The same covenant considered as subsist- 
ing between God and the Mediator, is justly called the 
covenant of redemption ; as subsisting between God and 
the Church, the covenant of grace ; and faith may be called 
a condition of order and connection. It is, also, in our 
opinion, a very erroneous tenet, that the saints of the 
Jewish Church were total strangers to spiritual promises 
and blessings ; knew nothing of the immortality of the 
soul, and a future happiness in heaven ; for the apostle 
affirms, that unto them was the Gospel preached, as well as 
unto us. And they did all eat the same spiritual meat, 
and drink the same spiritual drink; they drank of that 
Eock which followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 89 



CHAPTER VIII. 

OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR — HIS SURETYSHIP AND 
SACRIFICE. 

It is the glory of the Christian religion, that our Saviour 
is Jehovah, the true and eternal God. The divinity of 
Christ is the rock on which the Church is built. If this 
foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do ? Take 
this away, and all is gone. Our hope is perished. This is 
the only foundation of present grace and future glory. It 
is incontrovertible, that in Scripture, the same perfections, 
the same names, the same works, and the same worship 
are ascribed to the Son as to the Father, as has been 
already noticed. But he is truly man as well as God ; of 
the seed of David according to the flesh ; and declared to be 
the Son of God, with power, by the resurrection from the 
dead. His name is Immanuel, God with us. He is David's 
Son, and David's Lord, Psalm ex. The Eoot and the Off- 
spring of David ; the Bright and Morning Star. The 
Child born, is the mighty God ; the Son given, the everlast- 
ing Father. ! precious and adorable truth ! without 
controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness, God was 
made manifest in the flesh ! Though he was in the form of 



90 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

God, yet lie took upon him the form of a servant ; and, 
though he thought it no robbery to be equal with God, yet 
he was found in fashion as a man. And, by this mysterious 
constitution of our divine Eedeemer's person, and by it 
alone, he was qualified to execute his mediatorial offices of 
Prophet, Priest, and King. True believers see an infinite 
glory and beauty in this great truth of the Gospel. They 
behold him at once, as God's Son, and their Brother. They 
see infinite majesty and humility united in him. This 
darts a beam of light through the whole book of God, and 
explains every part of the history of his life, death, resur- 
rection, etc. 

We heartily detest all Socinian and Arian opinions about 
the person of Christ, and we firmly believe in his mediato- 
rial righteousness consisting of his obedience to the law of 
God, and an atonement or infinite satisfaction for sin in the 
room of his people. His obedience to the precept was 
vicarious. It has, indeed, been alleged, that Christ did not 
perform obedience to the precept of the law in place of his 
people ; but that his obedience was due for himself; for, say 
the authors, it is as impossible for the human nature to be 
from under the law, as for the divine nature to be under it. 
This dangerous position is nearly connected with another 
error, and, indeed, rises out of it, namely: that Adam's 
posterity, since the fall, are not under the preceptive part of 
the covenant of works ; but only under the penalty. The 
consideration of this last point will fall in naturally, when 
we come to the nineteenth chapter, which treats of the law 
of God. Meantime, let us attend to this other doctrine. 
And, can it possibly be so, that Christ did not perform 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 91 

obedience for his people ; but that his obedience was due on 
his own account? Surely, God's Word does not teach so. 
The Scripture tells us, " That as by one man's disobedience 
many were made sinners ; so, by the obedience of one, shall 
many be made righteous;" it was predicted of him, " That 
he should finish the transgression, make an end of sin, and 
bring in an everlasting righteousness ; this is the name 
whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness ; 
and surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness 
and strength ; your righteousness is of me, saith the Lord ; 
thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, says he ; 
as sin hath reigned unto death, so grace shall reign through 
righteousness unto eternal life." These texts point out 
the active obedience of Christ as an essential part of his 
mediatorial righteousness, which he accomplished in the 
room of his people. It has been said, that there was an 
active obedience even in Christ's death and sufferings. 
That Christ voluntarily yielded to death, is certain ; that he 
bore his sufferings patiently, is certain. But when we 
distinguish between action and passion, let us do it fully. 
These two words convey very different ideas. When a 
person undergoes sufferings and death entirely by the 
activity of others, he is utterly passive in it. That Christ 
was not the efficient cause of his own death and sufferings 
must be allowed ; and, therefore, in his sufferings and death, 
viewed abstractly as a passion, he was entirely passive. 
So that to ascribe an active obedience to his passion and 
death, is to confound ideas in themselves distinct, and ren- 
der words indeterminate in their signification. The meek- 
ness, patience, and voluntariness wherewith Christ submitted 



92 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

to his death, are quite distinct from his passion. They 
point out the manner of his bearing his passion, and were 
a part of his active obedience, or conformity to the precept ; 
and thus every believer is required by the law, to bear 
injuries, and sometimes death itself, with similar patience 
and meekness, for Christ's sake. 

It is said, it is impossible for the human nature to be 
from under the law, as it is for the divine nature to be under 
it. But this method of arguing is absurd. It is absurd to 
speak of a nature abstractly being under a law ; it is not a 
nature but a person that is under a law ; the word nature 
conveys an abstract, universal idea ; so the angelic nature 
comprehends all angels ; the human nature all men. The 
angelic nature has no existence, but in the person of an 
angel. The human nature none, but in the person of a man ; 
except in the extraordinary case of the Son of G-od. A 
nature, as such, can violate or fulfill no law ; but only as in 
a person. If Christ then owed obedience, was under the law 
and fulfilled it for himself, he, doubtless, was no more than 
a human person. This doctrine denies his divinity and lands 
us in Socinianism. Or if the doctrine of his divinity be 
admitted, the unity of his person must be denied. Accord- 
ing to this scheme he must be both a divine person and a 
human. In respect of his divine person he was not under 
the law, but in respect of his human, he was under it, 
owed obedience for himself and fulfilled it. It is said, it is 
impossible for the divine nature to be under the law. We 
allow it. But it was not impossible for the divine person of 
the Son of God, the person of Jesus, Immanuel, Grod with us, 
to be under it. Far ! very far from it ! " God sent forth 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 98 

his Sou, made of a woman, made under the law." It was 
the Son of God that obeyed and died ; and it was this that 
made his righteousness truly divine, and of infinite value ; 
henee it is the righteousness of God, and his blood is also 
called the blood of God. If only a human person obeyed, 
it was but a human righteousness. To talk of a human 
nature obeying, exclusively of a human person, we already 
showed to be absurd. 

But it will be said, are the acts of the divine nature im- 
puted to believers ? We might likewise ask, are the acts of 
the human nature imputed ? The truth is, the righteous- 
ness or obedience of the complete divine person, God in our 
nature, is imputed. Every being subject to the divine law, 
is bound to glorify God by obedience, according to the extent 
of its powers. The divine person Jesus Christ, God in our 
nature, subjected himself voluntarily to the law, in the 
room of his people ; and so was bound to glorify God in pro- 
portion to his powers ; but his powers were infinite, and so 
his righteousness was an infinite righteousness. The 
value, merit, or worth of which, is sustained in law as the 
ground or reason of the believer's salvation. It is very true, 
that Christ had in his human nature, the two essential, con- 
stituent parts of a human person, to wit, a rational soul 
and human body. But his human nature never had a dis- 
tinct, personal subsistence of its own. It never existed, but 
in a state of union to the divine person of the Son of God, 
and obedience to the divine law, does not appear to have been 
due from this divine person, on his own account. 

The death and sufferings of Christ were also certainly 
vicarious, for he demerited no such thing himself. He was 



94 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. The 
Scriptures declare, " That he was wounded for our trans- 
gressions, and bruised for our iniquities. That God the 
Father laid on him the iniquity of us all. That though 
he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, that we 
through his poverty might be made rich. That he was 
made sin for us, though he knew no sin, that we might be 
made the righteousness of God in him. That he suffered 
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to G-od. 
That he hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by 
being made a curse for us ; " and hence it is promised : 
" That men shall be blessed in him." These texts declare 
as plainly as language will allow, that the death of Christ 
was accomplished in our stead. The death of Christ is often 
represented as a sacrifice ; and a true sacrifice it was. But 
it is essential to a sacrifice that it be vicarious. When a 
person offered a sacrifice, he thereby confessed himself guilty 
before God ; but at the same time, his doing so intimated a 
hope, that the punishment would be transferred from the 
head of the criminal, to the head of the sacrifice. It is also 
remarkable, that all nations have had an idea of the neces- 
sity and propriety of sacrifices ; and have accordingly offered 
them. In this instance we see all the world confessing them- 
selves guilty before God, and yet expecting mercy through a 
propitiation. The apostle indeed remarks, that what the 
Gentiles offered in sacrifices, they offered unto devils. But 
though the object of their worship was wrong, the principle 
on which they proceeded, was right ; that is, a conviction of 
sin and guilt, and that mercy might be obtained only 
through a propitiation ; and perhaps this was one of these 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 95 

scattered raya of revelation, which penetrated the thick 
darkness that covered the nations : and in this respect, 
Christ, the true sacrifice, was the desire of all nations. 

The doctrine of sacrifices is in substance the same with 
that of imputed righteousness ; and however much this pre- 
cious doctrine be now despised, we -see from the preceding 
remark, that it really has been the system universally em- 
braced by the common sense of mankind. It is a sentiment 
natural and congenial to the human mind, that sin demerits 
punishment, and that prayer and penitence alone (supposing 
the sinner could bring his hard heart to prayer and peni- 
tence, which is impossible) , cannot atone for sin and guilt ; 
for on this supposition the law would have no other penalty, 
which would make the penalty a blessing ; and encourage to 
sin, instead of deterring from it. And we are persuaded, 
were G-od to let fall a few drops of his flaming wrath, on 
the conscience of the most daring infidel or audacious profli- 
gate, he would instantly call out for an atonement, and see 
the absolute need of such a satisfaction as the Gospel 
reveals. 

In consequence of the incarnation of Christ, and his offer- 
ing himself a sacrifice for our sins, we see sacrificing laid 
aside in the Church of God. Jehovah said of his blood, "It 
is enough." Christ cried, "jfi is finished" The cry went up 
to heaven and made God and angels glad. It reverberated 
from heaven all around this globe, and made the nations sing 
for joy. For what is the preaching of the Gospel, but to 
tell the world " It is finished." There is not one bloody 
ordinance belonging to the Xew Testament Church. Circum- 
cision and the passover were sanguinary institutions, and 



96 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

pointed to the blood of Christ as about to be shed : but Christ 
set them aside when about to offer his own blood, and insti- 
tuted in their place, baptism and the holy supper, which in- 
deed point at blood, the blood of Christ, and that as actually 
shed, but are not attended with the shedding of blood. And 
beside, after the offering of this sacrifice, what a change 
takes place in the Gentile world ? Soon after this, the hea- 
then temples were thrown down, their altars demolished, 
their oracles ceased to give responses, and their sacrifices to 
smoke. To what shall we ascribe this ? To what, but to 
the providence of him who rules over all, and governs the 
nations to answer the purposes of his own glory ? God did, 
in all this, give testimony to the great sacrifice of his Son. 
He proclaimed to all the world, that with it he was infi- 
nitely well pleased. 

It has been objected to this doctrine of the vicarious nature 
of the righteousness and death of Christ, that it is inconsist- 
ent with the justice of God, to punish an innocent and right- 
eous person, in place of the guilty : but the objectors know 
not what they say, nor whereof they affirm. They cannot 
deny that the Son of God did suffer, and that his sufferings 
were of the deepest kind too. They must allow, he was holy, 
perfectly holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. 
How then, on their principles, will they acquit the justice 
of God in punishing such a holy person, who was in no sense 
responsible to the law and justice of God? Here the diffi- 
culty is much greater than if we allow with the prophet, 
" That God laid on him the iniquity of us all," and with the 
apostle, " That he was made sin for us." And, on their hy- 
pothesis, what sense, what meaning in all the sacrifices under 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 97 

the law, and in the whole doctrine of Christ and his apostles 
on this subject? "I lay down my life for the sheep," says 
Christ: and again, " The Son of man came to give his life a 
ransom for many." Such objectors should consider, that 
Jesus Christ is a divine person. He has the absolute power 
of life and death. He says, " I have power to lay down my 
life, and power to take it up again." And who doubts the 
justice of King Zaleucus, who, when his son was taken in 
adultery, against which the king had made a law that the 
adulterer should have his eyes put out, consented that one 
of his own eyes, in place of one of his son's, should be extin- 
guished ? Did not this both fulfill and honor the law ? A 
father may hate a son, but no man ever hated his own flesh. 
Who complains of injustice when the surety is obliged to 
pay the insolvent's debt ? But these are only faint simili- 
tudes of the sovereignty of him who is absolute Lord of all ; 
and had power to lay down his life, and power to take it up 
again. 

The mediatorial righteousness of Christ is represented in 
Scripture as a satisfactory price paid for our redemption. 
And whereas doubts have arisen in the Church, concerning 
the extent of redemption, it may be proper in this place to 
state our views of that subject. We are of opinion that the 
Mediator's righteousness was finished in the room and for 
the sake of the elect. Election, redemption, and application 
appear to us to be of equal extent. This scheme is consist- 
ent, and every other inconsistent. This scheme maintains a 
harmony among the persons of the adorable Trinity. The 
electing love of the Father, the redeeming blood of the Son, 
and the renewing grace of the Spirit, meet on the same 



98 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

objects. But the scheme of universal redemption destroys this 
harmony. According to it, Christ died for men, whom the 
Father never elected to eternal life, and whom the Holy 
Spirit will never sanctify, xincl further, on this last scheme, 
the apostle's question implies no impossibility. " Is Christ 
divided?" For according to it, he must, as a Priest, have 
died for men whom he will never teach as a Prophet, nor 
sanctify and rule as a King. Yea his priestly office is rent 
asunder. For, on this plan, he died for men, for whom he 
declares he does not make intercession. Says he, " I pray 
not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out 
of the world." And again, " I pray not for these only, but 
for those also who shall believe in me through their Word." 
In a word, the doctrine of universal redemption, so far as 
we are able to judge, dishonors all the divine perfections. 
G-od is no longer a rock, nor his work perfect ; according to 
it, the divine foreknowledge is nothing ; G-od must be totally 
uncertain who shall be saved, and indeed whether any shall 
be saved, until he see the event : which event must depend 
wholly on the creature's own exertions. The infinite wisdom 
of Grod is tarnished by a plan, according to which, the gra- 
cious designs of the death of Christ may, either in whole or 
in part, be frustrated. The faithfulness of Grod is over- 
thrown, inasmuch as Christ shall not see the travail of his 
soul, at least in part, The conditional scheme of salvation 
to which it leads us, is absurd. According to it, the elect- 
ing love of the Father, the redeeming grace of the Son, and 
the regenerating power of the Spirit must be all conditional. 
And the condition of all these must rest wholly with the 
creature, either to perform or not perform it. And thus in 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 99 

foot, were the scheme true, and any saved by it, they must 
be indebted to their own exertions for salvation. And so the 
doctrine of the grace of God is wholly subverted, and salva- 
tion by works restored. 

The universal phrases used in Scripture, respecting the 
death of Christ, sometimes mean, men of all nations ; men of 
all characters, stations, and in all generations ; a very great 
number. There was a particular reason for using these uni- 
versal phrases, at the introduction of the Gospel. The Jewish 
dispensation confined the Church to that nation. It was 
difficult to bring the Jewish Christians into a belief that the 
grace of God, under the New Testament, was to extend to the 
Gentiles. Peter, himself, does not appear to have been fully 
satisfied on this head, until he had a vision from heaven, of 
a great sheet containing all manner of beasts and creeping 
things; and heard a voice saying, " Eise, Peter, slay and 
eat." And at the same time, to explain this to him, the 
messenger from Cornelius, the Eoman Centurion, had arrived, 
informing him that their master had also seen an angel of 
the Lord, who desired him to send for Peter. In a word, the 
abettors of universal redemption, or of the doctrine that 
Christ died for all men, to be consistent, must either re- 
nounce this opinion, or go a little farther ; and that is, not 
only to maintain the universal purchase, but also the univer- 
sal application. The modern doctrine of universal salvation 
is really more consistent. The chain of blessings mentioned 
Romans viii, cannot be broken. Foreknowledge, predestina- 
tion, effectual calling, justification, and glorification, center 
on the same objects. And when the apostle throws out his 
defiance. " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's 



100 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

elect ?" we should consider, it is the elect only of whom he 
speaks. And what is the ground of his defiance ? It is, 
that God justifieth them. On what foundation? Christ 
died for them ; yea, is risen again, and maketh intercession. 
That there is a sufficiency in the atonement of Jesus Christ 
for all men, is undoubtedly a great and glorious truth. But 
the sufficiency of his death, and extent of it, must be con- 
sidered in a twofold light : first, either with relation to the 
nature of sin, or, secondly, the number of sinners pardoned 
and saved. That the necessity of Christ's infinite atonement 
does not arise from the number, but nature of sin ; or that 
the very nature of sin itself requires an infinite atonement, 
in order to its honorable remission, cannot be denied by men 
of sound understandings. Such an atonement is indis- 
pensably necessary to the pardon of one act of sin, and the 
salvation of one sinner, consistently with the glory of the 
supreme Lawgiver, the obligation of his law, and sus- 
tentation of his government ; and the end thereof may be 
completely gained in the salvation of one. Sin, though dis- 
tinguished into various acts, is, in itself, one thing, one cor- 
rupt principle, one vicious habit. It is enmity against Grod, 
it is spiritual darkness, spiritual death, spiritual bondage. 
Contraries illustrate each other ; and saving grace is the con- 
trary to sin ; now saving grace is doubtless one gracious 
principle, one divine habit ; it is light, love, life, liberty. 
The reason why we distinguish the one vital principle of 
saving grace into various acts, is, our distinguishing between 
the faculties and powers of the soul, and our viewing these 
powers as acting on one and the same object, in a manner suit- 
able to their nature, by contemplating, believing, choosing 



WBBTMINSTEB CONFESSION OF FAITH. 101 

and supremely loving Gtod. me divine principle, 

viewed aa discerning and believing the divine testimony, is 

called faith ; as choosing and approving it. love ; as hating 
sin and esteeming holiness, repentance. By the rule of con- 
traries, sin is one corrupt principle : it is the vitiosity or 
corruption of our nature : and so every act of sin includes 
the nature of all sin in it : with regard to the divine testi- 
mony, it is called unbelief ; with respect to the divine good- 
ness it is enmity : and to the authority of the Lawgiver, it 
is contempt and disobedience. With infinite propriety, 
therefore, the apostle .Tames says. " He that offends in one 
point is guilty of all :" and as every act of sin includes the 
nature of all sin in it. so the penalty of the law in its full 
extent, is due to it. The wages of sin, not of ten or ten 
millions of its acts only, but of sin itself, even in one act, is 
death. And therefore the infinite sufficiency of Christ's 
death is necessary to the pardon of one sin, and the salva- 
tion of one sinner : and indeed if this were not the case, it 
would not be necessary to the pardon of any supposed num- 
ber, because numbers do not vary nature, nor degrees alter 
species or kind. 

The dispute about the extent of the death of Christ, 
therefore, can take place only on the second question, to wit, 
the number of sinners to be saved by it. That it is 
sufficient for the salvation of all men, is not denied by any ; 
and. doubtless, all men would be saved by it, if it were 
accepted by them. The sacred writings clearly teach this ; 
and on this ground the revelation and offer of it to all men 
must rest. 

When we speak of the sufficiency of the death and satis- 



102 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

faction of Christ, in this last sense, perhaps we err in 
regulating our ideas on this great subject, by the idea 
of commutation or commercial justice among men. As a 
thousand pounds, in specie, by whomsoever paid, whether by 
the surety or debtor, is sufficient to cancel a bond, or dis- 
charge a debt of that amount. But, it is manifest, no such 
ideas, strictly taken, ought to be admitted here. Let us say 
it with reverence, God is not a merchant. Transferable 
property is out of the question. The rectoral justice of the 
supreme Governor of the universe, is the subject to which 
we must fix our attention. And the only proper idea which 
we can form of the sufficiency of the atonement of Christ is 
this : Is it a sufficient display of the glory of the divine 
character ; of his holiness, justice, hatred of sin, and good- 
ness, as a moral governor? Is it sufficient to maintain 
the authority and obligation of his law, sustain the moral 
system, and give energy to his government over rational and 
free agents, while he pardons sin, and receives the rebel into 
favor ? After forming this idea of it, which is certainly the 
true and just one, there arises another question. In the 
room of what creatures is it morally fit and proper to admit 
this atonement ? It must be still remembered, that, by 
Christ's atonement, we mean his enduring the penalty of 
the law due to sin, the execution of which became necessary 
after man's transgression, that the divine law might not be 
totally vacated, and God's moral government unhinged ; the 
precept being violated by the creature, and the penalty set 
aside by the Creator. This penalty, in its fullest extent, 
being due to every sinner, he must either endure it himself, 
or flv under the covert of the Mediator's atonement : to 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 103 

proceed otherwise, would totally repeal the divine law, and 
unhinge the divine government. 

Therefore, in answer to the question, let it be observed, 
that as all men were comprehended in Adam, in a double 
sense, both as the natural root foom which they all proceed, 
and as their representative in the first covenant ; as they 
are all originally under one law or covenant ; as sin is one 
and the same thing in them all ; and as one and the same 
penalty is due to all of them ; and, furthermore, as the Son 
of G-od assumed the common nature of them all, was made 
under the very same law and covenant which they had all 
broken ; and not only fulfilled the obedience required by the 
precept, but also endured the penalty of that very law which 
they had violated, and to which penalty they had, by trans- 
gression, exposed themselves. There is, doubtless, a suffi- 
ciency in his death for them all, that is, it would comport 

° Some have gone farther and said, that, considering the infinite 
dignity of the person suffering and dying ; who is no less a person- 
age than the Son of God, the mighty God, one who counts it no 
robbery to be equal with God ; his atonement has an intrinsic suffi- 
ciency in it for the redemption of fallen angels. The writer of these 
illustrations, etc., acknowledges he has used this mode of speaking 
in a note affixed to the piece on Universal Salvation. But, on 
deeper reflection, he is disposed to think, the mode of speaking is 
not safe ; it is not scriptural ; it is too much like being wise above 
what is written ; and he would not knowingly, for any considera- 
tion, advance anything on divine subjects, but what is warranted 
by the Word of God. Whether the Son of God suffering and dying, 
not in the angelical, but human nature ; his bearing the curse, and 
enduring the penalty threatened in the law given to Adam and his 
posterity, would be a sufficient display of the glory of the divine 



104 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

with the glory of the divine character, the sustentation of 
his government, the obligation and honor of his law, and the 

character, of his rector al justice, and holiness ; and "be adequate to 
give energy to his law, and sustain his moral government over 
angels, while he admitted the rebels to favor and mercy, is a question 
that is not so easily determined. It is dangerous, on so great and 
grave a subject, to give way to conjecture. We know little about 
the nature of angels ; we know not under what law they are ; we 
are ignorant of the divine constitution respecting them ; we know 
not what penalty was annexed in that constitution to their dis- 
obedience. We are sure they do not propagate a posterity as man 
does ; they were not all comprehended in one federal head, as men 
were in the first Adam. They may be under constitutions, and 
exposed to penalties, as various as their numbers. We are certain 
the Son of God took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of 
Abraham. God did not appoint the death of his Son for them. 
He spared not the angels that sinned, says Peter, but cast them 
down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be 
reserved to judgment. And, says the Apostle Jude, the angels 
which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he 
hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judg- 
ment of the great day. They expect nothing but destruction from 
Christ. Art thou come to torment us before the time ? said they. 
We are, therefore, certain as to the second question on this subject, 
that there is not a moral fitness or propriety to admit the atone- 
ment of Christ in the room of the fallen angels, or offer it to them ; 
or certainly it would be done; for it is as impossible that God 
should depart from what is morally fit and proper to be done as it 
is impossible for him to lie or deny himself. And it is remarkable 
that our Lord declares, he will consign unbelieving and wicked 
men, at the last day, to the fire prepared for the devil and his 
angels. And whoever will read the second chapter of the second 
Epistle of Peter, and the Epistle of Jude, will find, that this fire 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 105 

good of the rational and moral system, to save them all ; pro- 
vided they all accepted of Christ's atonement, yielded sub- 
mission to him, and returned to God by him. In this sense 
it may be said " Christ tasted death for every man ; is the 
propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the 
sins of the whole world. And G-od so loved the world, as to 
give his only begotten Son ; that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have eternal life." And this lays a 
sufficient foundation for that injunction, " Go preach the 
Gospel to every creature, he that believeth shall be saved : 
he that believeth not shall be damned. Go speak to the peo- 
ple all the words of this life." Every legal bar and obstruc- 
tion in the way of the salvation of all men is removed ; let 
them only accept and submit to Jesus Christ, as their Pro- 
phet, Priest and King. All things are ready, and all are 
made welcome to the marriage and the marriage supper. 

But, can it hence be inferred, that it will comport with 
the glory of the divine character, the sustentation of his gov- 
ernment, the honor and obligation of his law, and the good 
of the rational and moral system, to save such as utterly and 
finally reject the Lord Jesus, his atonement and infinite 
righteousness ? Surely not. Such an assertion is a contra- 
diction in terms, for salvation by Christ is just a reducing 
the rebel back to a subordination or submission to Christ : 
but to suppose the sinner to be saved by Christ, while he 

is prepared for false teachers, who bring in damnable heresies, 
and who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, by telling 
men j they shall be saved, though they oppose the constitution both 
of law and Gospel. These two apostles show that the damnation of 
such is as certain and as terrible as the damnation of devils !.. 
9 



106 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

utterly rejects Christ, is the same thing as supposing him 
to be saved and damned at the same time. 

God is not like man. He changes not. All his purposes 
and constitutions are immutable. With him there is no va- 
riation nor shadow of turning. The first covenant with man 
or divine constitution respecting him, is immutable. " In 
the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die ;" and men 
cannot, by their sophistry, set aside that constitution ; they 
feel the effects of it ; man died in a spiritual and moral sense 
as soon as he transgressed ; his body instantly became mor- 
tal and must die ; the penalty, in its fullest extent, was en- 
dured by the Saviour, in the room of all that shall be finally 
saved; and those who reject him must endure it, in their 
own persons, to eternity. For the second covenant or divine 
constitution respecting man, is as immutable as the first. 
" He that believe th shall be saved : he that believeth not 
shall be damned. He that believeth on the Son hath life : 
he that believeth not on the Son, hath not life, but the wrath 
of God abideth on him." Both parts of this constitution are 
are equally immutable. " He that believeth shall be saved. 
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for 
righteousness." And the apostle, Heb. vi, 12-18, encour- 
ages believers to imitate Abraham in his faith and patience, 
on the same immutable foundations of faith and hope. " For 
when God made promise to Abraham, because he could 
swear by none greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely 
in blessing, I will bless thee," etc., for men verily swear by 
the greater, and an oath for confirmation puts an end to all 
strife ; wherein God willing, more abundantly, to show unto 
the heirs of salvation the immutability of his counsel, con- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 107 

firmed it by an oath : that by two immutable things wherein 
it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consola- 
tion who have fled for refuge, " to lay hold on the hope set 
before us." The two immutable things of which the apostle 
speaks, are God's word, and God's oath ; on which immuta- 
ble foundations the promise is built. Can any be disappointed 
in trusting to this ? But the other part of the divine con- 
stitution, to wit, " He that believeth not shall be damned," 
or, " He that believeth not the Son hath not life, but the 
wrath of God abideth on him," stands on the same immuta- 
ble basis. God's word is passed for it, and the word of the 
Lord endureth forever. His oath is passed for its truth 
likewise — Heb. iv, 3 — " As I have sworn in my wrath, if 
they shall enter into my rest." The sentence is awfully 
abrupt ! It is the oath of God ! Xone speaks like him, 
and none swears like him. 

It is as if he had said, If they shall enter into my rest — 
then let me cease to exist ; for he swears by himself — that 
is, by his own being and perfections. Xow against whom is 
this tremendous oath passed ? the apostle answers the 
question, chap, iii, ver. 18 : " And to whom sware he, that 
they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed 
not ? So we see they could not enter in, because of unbelief," 
He adds, " Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left 
us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come 
short of it." This, one would think, is decisive, and might 
end the controversy about universal salvation. But as the 
serpent beguiled Eve, when he told her, " Ye shall not surely 
die," so the same old serpent, speaking in the authors and 
abettors of the universal doctrine, beguiles unstable souls. 



108 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

Satan told our first parents, God's covenant is not immuta- 
ble, the divine constitution respecting you is only a bugbear 
to frighten and hold you back from glory, and honor, and 
immortality ; for if you eat ye shall be as gods. In like 
manner these preachers and their abettors say, that divine 
constitution — " He that believeth not shall be damned," — 
is but a mere scarecrow. Though it stand upon God's im- 
mutable word and oath, there is no truth, no solidity in it ; 
ye shall not perish, but after some years, or ages at most, 
shall have eternal life. Who can forbear exclaiming, if an 
angel from heaven preach such Gospel, let him be accursed ! 
Let God be true, and every man who contradicts him a liar ! 

As for the doctrine of a dispensatiou of the Gospel in hell, 
that there Christ now has, and for numberless ages will have, 
a glorious Church ; that there the river of life will flow, and 
the tree of life grow and scatter around its fruits among the 
despairing inhabitants ; that there the work of conversion 
will prosper, and much more successfully too than ever it did 
in this world ; that there is now, and ever will be, commun- 
ion between heaven and hell, between Christ and Belial ; that 
all men, in heaven, in hell, and in this world, form but one 
Church, one body, of which Christ is the sanctifying and sav- 
ing head ; that saints and devils drink the same cup of sal- 
vation, the cup of the Lord. It is too gross, absurd, and 
blasphemous for any person to believe, who is not given up 
in the righteous judgment of God to strong delusions, to 
believe a lie, that he may be damned. 

But while we allow the sufficiency of the atonement of 
Christ for the salvation of all men ; at the same time it is 
absolutely certain, both from the testimony of God's Word, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 109 

and from fact and experience, that many men reject it, and 
die rejecting it. Now did God design to save, by the death 
of his Son, those who finally reject it ? Is there a suffi- 
ciency in the death of Christ to save men whether they 
receive or reject the benefit of it ? Most certainly not. The 
gospel-constitution assures us, that such, instead of being 
saved by it, will find this rejection infinitely to aggravate 
their guilt and condemnation. Christ will profit them 
nothing. He that believeth not shall be damned. " This 
is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and 
men have loved darkness rather than light, because their 
deeds are evil." " If I had not come and spoken unto you," 
says Christ, " you had not had sin ; but now you have no 
cloak for your sin. How shall we escape if we neglect so 
great salvation ? " 

It is moreover certain, that it is the natural disposition 
equally of all men, to reject the counsels of God against their 
own souls ; for the natural man receiveth not the things of 
the Spirit of God ; they appear to be foolishness to him ; and 
the carnal mind is enmity against God ; therefore all men 
without exception, if left to themselves, as God might justly 
leave them, would most certainly reject it. Did Christ then 
die at an absolute uncertainty, whether any should be saved 
by his death or not ? Surely not. A number have been 
saved by it, and many more shall be so. But known unto 
God are all his works from the beginning. Is the salvation 
of any owing to their own exertions ? Were that the case, 
they would be saved not by grace but by works, and boast- 
ing would not be excluded. Was it owing to Saul's pious 
exertions that he was stopped in his mad career ? No, he 



110 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

was a chosen vessel. The Scriptures most fully declare that 
a number were predestinated to life by Jesus Christ. — Eom. 
viii. " They were elected according to the foreknowledge 
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit and 
sprinkling of the blood of Christ." — 1 Peter i, 2. A num- 
ber were given to Christ, "And all that the Father hath 
given to him shall come to him." — John vi, 37. "A will- 
ing people shall come to thee," says the Father, " in the day 
of thy power." God determined to give such, not only the 
offer of Christ and salvation, but also grace to believe and 
accept ; and says Christ, " No man cometh to me, except the 
Father which sent me, draw him." This doctrine we are 
not afraid to avouch and maintain, because it runs through 
the whole Bible ; and to deny God's sovereignty, is to deny 
his being. He is under no obligation to bestow his grace 
on any ; he therefore injures none while he gives it to whom 
he pleases. 

In respect of its sufficiency then, the death of Christ bears 
a relation to all men. The door of hope has been opened to 
all, to enter, or to believe and accept. And he that believeth 
shall be saved. But in respect of the intention of real and 
actual salvation, he died only for the chosen, or those who 
were given to him, and whom the Father will draw by rich, 
free, and unmerited grace. In virtue of the atonement of 
Christ, it is consistent with the honor of God, yea redounds 
much to his glory, to save all who believe and obey the 
Gospel and none else. But shall we suppose he did not 
know who should finally do so ? How can that be possible, 
since it is certain, whenever any do so, it is owing to the 
interposition of sovereign grace ? "By grace ye are saved, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. Ill 

through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of 
God." As for others, he determined to leave them finally to 
their own free choice ; except that he strives with them, in 
the dispensation of his word and ordinances, and by the 
more ordinary operations of his Spirit ; still declaring that 
whosoever believeth on Christ shall not perish ; they are 
thus inexcusable ; for the Gospel is as rational an address 
to the rational powers of men, as ever was made to rational 
creatures. And the only reason why they are not saved is 
because they will not. " Ye will not come to me," says 
Christ, " that ye might have life." That some have been 
thus left in holy sovereignty, to their own free will, is a fact 
that can not be denied ; because in some places and nations 
of the earth, where the Gospel once was, it is now no more ; 
they have totally rejected and put it away. And in places 
where it is, some corrupt it, some mock it, and multitudes 
do not firmly and practically believe it ; and thus a remnant 
only shall be saved, and they according to the election of 
grace. The connection between the decree of election and 
effectual calling, is very fully and clearly stated in the Word 
of God. " All things work together for good to them that 
love God, who are the called according to his purpose ; whom . 
he did predestinate them he called ; who hath saved us and 
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, 
but according to his purpose and grace given us in Christ 
Jesus before the world began : give all diligence to make 
your calling and election sure ; as many as were ordained to 
eternal life believed." 

All this may be illustrated by an example. Christ, address- 
ing himself to the young ruler, who appears to have been 



112 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

what we generally call a lovely and virtuous youth, com- 
mands him to go and sell all that he had. give it to the poor, 
take up the cross, and follow him ; and he should have trea- 
sure in heaven. Here he presents him a free choice, but 
leaves him entirely to the freedom of his own will. That 
Christ had a right to bid him give up his earthly possessions 
is unquestionable, because he, as the supreme Lord of the 
universe, had given them to him ; and he might, by an 
adverse stroke of providence, have justly taken them all from 
him, as he did in the case of Job. Beside, it was necessary 
in that suffering period of the Church ; and it may be asked, 
of what avail were this ruler's possessions to him, a few years 
after this, when Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles, 
and Judea laid waste by the Eoman armies ? Yet for the 
sake of them this young man refused treasure in heaven, and 
probably lost his soul. We see God, in his holy sovereignty, 
putting others to the same trial, and carrying them trium- 
phantly through it ; he called Abraham from Ur of the Chal- 
dees, and commanded him to forsake his father's house and 
paternal inheritance. Abraham obeyed and went out, not 
knowing whither he went. He became a sojourner in a 
strange land. God gave him none inheritance in it ; no, not 
so much as to set his foot on. In like manner, he commanded 
Moses to abandon, at once, all his prospects in the land of 
Egypt ; Moses obeyed, not fearing the wrath of the King, 
and preferred the reproach of God's people before all the 
treasures of Egypt. Job, in like manner, said, " The Lord 
giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the 
Lord. ,, Now it is certain, that in the case of Abraham and 
Moses a choice was presented to them, much the same as to 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 113 

the young ruler. But behold the difference ! They obeyed ; 
he did not. Why so ? The Lord left him entirely to the 
freedom of his own will, and that ruined him ; but to them 
he gave supernatural grace to obey, faith to believe God's 
Word, and supreme love to himself as their God and portion. 
It appears that the young ruler was ignorant that Jesus 
was the true God and eternal life ; he trusted to self-right- 
eousness, or his external conformity to some precepts of the 
law, while it is manifest supreme love to God did not possess 
his heart, nor indeed due benevolence to men. The world 
was manifestly his idol ; that he supremely loved, and in that 
he trusted. The examples above mentioned may illustrate 
the manner of God's proceeding with men in the gospel-offer ; 
the offer is made to all, a free choice is presented to them ; 
to the elect he gives grace to accept and obey, as he did to 
Abraham and Moses ; they sell all and buy the pearl of 
great price, renounce all self-righteousness, and even all 
earthly comforts, if they should come in competition with 
Christ they deny themselves, take up the cross and follow 
Jesus. As for the others, he leaves them, as he did the 
young ruler, to the freedom of their own will, and so they 
do as he did, for the sake of the world, and self-righteous- 
ness, and gratifying their lusts, they reject Christ and 
treasure in heaven. 



114 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE IX. 

The ninth chapter treats of man's free will. It is evident 
that though the judicious compilers of the Confession were 
decided in their opinion respecting the decrees of God, yet 
they by no means favored the modern doctrine of necessity, 
which represents man as a mere machine, and governed as 
necessarily by motives, as the wheel is turned round by the 
weight of water. They are equally clear on the doctrine of 
free will, as on that of the decrees. They do not pretend to 
explain how they can be consistent : it is perhaps a subject 
too profound for the highest angels. But they knew that it 
is an undoubted fact that man is a free agent. And all men 
are as certain of God having laid his plan for the govern- 
ment of the world, and that his foreknowledge is absolutely 
perfect, as they are that God exists. Tree will consists not 
in indifference, but in a rational and free choice. That man 
in his fallen state has a power of willing or choosing, and 
so of doing, what is truly and spiritually good, previously to 
regeneration, is an opinion contrary to Scripture, which tes- 
tifies, " that the human heart is desperately wicked and 
deceitful above all things, and who can know it ? That the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 115 

imaginations of the thoughts of man's heart are evil, only 
evil, and evil continually ; and that the carnal mind is en- 
mity against God, and is not subject to his law, neither 
indeed can be." It is also contrary to fact and experience. 
Ask the children of God, who have really chosen the better 
part, truth and holiness — Was it by exerting their own 
latent strength that they made the choice ? Did they make 
this choice previously to any work of the Spirit of God on 
them? Did they make themselves to differ from others? 
When they paid some external respect to virtue and religion, 
did they not depend on this as their justifying righteousness, 
to the rejection of Christ and the whole Gospel plan? 
Whence came they to embrace the Lord Jesus as offered in 
the Gospel, to trust in him alone for salvation, and also to 
love and practice religion and virtue without trusting to it ? 
Will they not all say that this change was accomplished by 
the spirit of grace renewing and changing their whole heart 
and soul ? This view of the subject perfectly accords with 
the scriptural doctrine of regeneration and justification by 
the righteousness of Christ, the irresistible nature of divine 
grace, and the perseverance of the saints. 



116 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE X. 

Regeneration, which is materially the same thing with 
effectual calling or conversion, is wholly the work of the 
Spirit of God on the soul of man, and is represented in 
Scripture as a beam of divine light entering the mind — the 
image of God portrayed on the soul — the love of God shed 
abroad in the heart — the Holy Spirit taking possession of 
the soul, and remaining therein as a fountain of living water 
springing up to everlasting life, on which the reader may 
enlarge in his own mind. 

But we are not to imagine that the soul of man is wholly 
passive in regeneration ; such an opinion leads into many 
errors. The soul is the subject of the Spirit's work. But 

°" But we are not to imagine that the soul of man is wholly 
passive in regeneration." Many of the writer 's brethren thought 
this language rather too unguarded. It was natural, as they had 
heard little of the " scheme of doctrine" which he was controverting. 
Candid men, however, admitted that while it was calculated to 
startle the orthodox reader, no intelligent man, on seeing what 
follows, could doubt that the idea which the writer intended to 
convey is sound and scriptural. 

When guarding against one extreme, it is difficult to avoid the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 117 

the human soul is an active spirit. It can not, therefore, be 
such a subject of operation as a piece of wood or stone, or 
any inanimate matter under the artificer's hands. Man, in 
a natural state, is indeed said to be dead in trespasses and 
sins, but this does not mean that men, in that state, cease 
from action. It only means that they are under the power 
of a moral incapacity for things spiritually good, and that 
incapacity fixed and immovable as death ; so that as no- 
use of language which may seem to favor the opposite extreme. The 
writer had in view a philosophical (so called) " scheme " of theology 
which was then rife in the vicinity of Boston, and which afterward, 
under the name of Hopkinsianism, produced many evils and dis- 
tractions in the Churches. A brief view of it is given in the Ap- 
pendix. According to it, regeneration does not consist in a moral 
change wrought on the dispositions, affections, inclinations, or 
"mindings" of the soul; but in "creating holy exercises and voli- 
tions." Indeed, no such thing as a holy or unholy nature can be 
predicated of man : for all sin and holiness consists in " acts," 
44 exercises," "volitions," which God "creates." Hence it was 
sometimes called "the exercise scheme." Its language often sounds 
like blasphemy; and nothing but their metaphysics could have 
saved those who were initiated into its mysteries from intentional 
blasphemy. 

It is a fact, which a thoughtful mind may contemplate with some 
profit, that while Mr. Annan, in the Overture, was endeavoring to 
put Christians on their guard against the ingenious subtleties of a 
system which was laying waste the heritage of God in the land of 
the Puritans, good men in other places, ignorant of danger and not 
knowing what they were doing, were " testifying w against him as a 
"corrupter," because he did not walk according to the traditions 
and customs, and use the very phrases and modes of speech, which 
to their narrow minds seemed to contain the essence of all truth. 

D. 



118 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

thing but infinite power can quicken the dead, so nothing 
but the same power can remove that moral incapacity. 
This moral incapacity does not consist in a privation or want 
of rational powers, for fallen man has all the same physical 
powers which Adam in a state of purity had ; but it consists 
chiefly in a total aversion of the will from spiritual objects 
and enmity of the heart against God, including also blind- 
ness of mind or darkness of understanding. So that carnal 
men are not spiritually good because they will not, and be- 
cause they see no beauty or excellency in these things ; yet 
still it must be affirmed that the enmity of the will excludes 
the light, as well as rebels against it. ITnregenerate men 
are therefore active in this kind of death ; they are active 
against God, or exert their power in rebellion against him. 

Conversion is, therefore, a moral change upon these active 
powers ; and the Spirit of God never operates on the human 
soul, but in the way of rousing the powers of the mind to 
action. For instance, when he convinces of sin, what is it, 
but the man's own conscience arraigning and condemning 
him at the bar of the law ? When he illuminates the un- 
derstanding in the knowledge of Christ, what is it, but the 
person's own mind thinking, and thinking aright, about 
Christ ? When he renews the will, what is it, but the per- 
son's heart making a free and cordial choice of Christ as his 
Saviour ? When he purifies the affections, what is it, but 
the person making Christ the object of his hope, fear, love, 
desire, and joy? Here, then, is a twofold agency notice- 
able — the agency of the Spirit of God, and of the man's own 
spirit. The agency of the Spirit of God is concealed in the 
agency of the creature. The man is conscious of nothing 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 119 

but of his own perceptions and volitions ; yet he could as 
easily pluck the sun out of the firmament, as command these 
perceptions and volitions without the Spirit of God. We 
are not sufficient of ourselves, says Paul, to think anything 
as of ourselves. And Christians feel this from experience. 
At times they can neither think, nor will, nor desire, nor 
pray, nor perform any duty, with heart and spirit. And 
thus this agency is as much of the Spirit of God, as if the 
creature were entirely passive; and yet as much includes 
the activity of men's own minds, as if the Spirit of God had 
no concern with the matter. This truth is concisely pointed 
forth by the apostle when he says, " Work out therefore the 
work of your own salvation ; for it is God that worketh in 
you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." And cor- 
responding to this, we see that whatever duty is required in 
his law, in the Gospel he promises grace for the performance 
of it, as will be shown more fully in another place. 

Faith in Christ, or a union to him by faith, is the ulti- 
mate point in which ail the steps of the Spirit's work in 
regeneration do terminate. Why does he alarm and convince 
the conscience ? It is to show the necessity of a Saviour, 
and shut the sinner up unto the faith. Why does he en- 
lighten the mind and renew the will ? To bring the sinner 
to a cordial acceptance of Jesus as offered in the Gospel. 
All true believers in Christ are converted, and all converts 
are true believers. 

Finally, this view of the soul of man, and of the change 
made upon it by conversion, shows clearly the fitness of the 
means appointed by God for the conversion of sinners, and 
the propriety of the unconverted using them. These means 



120 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

of grace and salvation are an address to the rational powers 
of the mind, and are well calculated to rouse them to action. 
And whenever the power of the Spirit attends, this effect 
will follow. And also it shows the absurdity of the doctrine, 
" That we ought not to use these means, neither read nor 
hear the word, nor pray, until we be converted or believe in 
Christ." On this head we are told that to do so is only to 
add sin to sin, and a great deal of such stuff. But the Lord 
warrants sinners, who have not the Spirit, to pray for him. 
"If ye, being evil," says he, "know how to give good gifts 
to your children ; how much more shall your heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" And the 
Scriptures testify that faith comes by hearing the Word of 
God. Consequently, it is the duty of unbelievers to hear 
and read the Gospel. And it is an incontestable truth, that 
the ordinances of the Gospel are adapted, in infinite wisdom, 
both to convert sinners and promote the divine life in be- 
lievers ; for they are all a most proper address to the rational 
powers of the soul, and tend to awaken them to action. It 
is by effectual calling, or true faith in Christ, that we obtain 
a personal interest in the redemption purchased by Christ. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 121 



CHAPTEE XI. 

The eleventh chapter treats of justification. We believe 
that sinners are justified in the sight of God only in conse- 
quence of their spiritual union to Christ, and solely on ac- 
count of his infinitely perfect righteousness imputed to them, 
and received by faith. This great truth, this grand founda- 
tion of our hope, is justly styled by some of our reformers, 
11 Articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiae." Our ancestors 
in the Church of Eome had long been seeking rest to their 
souls in popish pilgrimages, penances, and indulgences, but 
found none. At the Eeformation, when this precious doc- 
trine was set before them in all its scriptural evidence and 
glory, they embraced it with the most ardent affection. It 
was welcome to them as the new fallen manna to the famished 
Israelites. One of them says that when he first got a view 
of this door of hope and life, the gates of heaven seemed to 
fly open before him. And it was the plain preaching of 
this doctrine that shook the deepest foundations of mystical 
Babylon, and threw down her strongest walls. 

The doctrine of imputation, is fully taught in Scripture ; 

a "The article by which the Church stands or falls." 
10 



122 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 

there is the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity to 
their condemnation, which is the native consequence of 
his federal representation of them, and his being their pri- 
mogenitor, to which we see something similar among men, 
when the traitor forfeits not only for himself but for his 
children. There is the imputation of our sins to Jesus 
Christ. It is said, " He was made sin for us, though he 
knew no sin. God laid on him the iniquity of us all. He 
was wounded for our transgressions." And the scapegoat, 
on which the sins of Israel were laid, was a figure of him. 
There is something similar to this also, among men, when 
the debt is assumed by the surety and demanded of him — 
the debtor being found unable to pay. There is the imputa- 
tion of Christ's righteousness to the believer for his justifi- 
cation — this follows of course on the former. Christ was 
made sin, that the sinner might be made the righteousness of 
God in him : " He is made of God unto us wisdom and right- 
eousness," etc. And then follows the non-imputation of sin 
to the believer : " Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will 
not impute sin." There is also something similar to this 
among men, when the debtor is liberated or restored to all 
the privileges of a citizen, on account of the surety paying 
his debt. It is very common for those who deny one of these, 
to deny all. And indeed, in this they are at least consistent, 
though very erroneous. If men would divest their minds of 
prejudices, and come to the book of God, with a good and 
honest heart, not to give it such a gloss as will accord with 
their preconceived opinions, but cordially to receive the 
truth from these Divine oracles, whatever it may be, we are 
persuaded there would be none to oppose the doctrine of 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 123 

justification, through the imputed righteousness of Christ. 
This doctrine is as ancient as the doctrine of salvation — in- 
deed it is the same with it. It was intimated in the first 
Gospel promise "that the seed of the woman should bruise 
the serpent's head." And in Abel's sacrifice, of whom it is 
witnessed " that by faith he offered a more acceptable sacri- 
fice than Cain." It is testified of Abraham " that his faith 
was reckoned unto him for righteousness." — Kom. iii. Here 
faith is put for its object, as elsewhere the apostle says: — 
M After faith is come, that is Christ, the object of faith, we 
are no longer under a schoolmaster. Thus then it is 
clear, that the object of Abraham's faith, Jesus Christ, 
or the righteousness of Christ, was reckoned or imputed 
unto him for righteousness. All the sacrifices under the 
the law, all the types of Christ, such as the brazen 
serpent, the manna, the smitten rock, had it some way 
couched under them. The prophets speak it out plainly : 
u Surely shall one say, ' In the Lord have I righteousness 
and strength. This is the name whereby he shall be called, 
the Lord our righteousness/ " It was foretold of him " that 
he should finish the transgression and bring in an everlast- 
ing righteousness." " Your righteousness is of me, saith 
the Lord. In him shall all the house of Israel be justified, 
and shall glory." Which Paul explains, when he says, " God 
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ." — 
Christ himself clearly teaches it: "lam come," says he, 
M that ye might have life. I lay down my life for the sheep. 
He that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he 
live. He that believeth not is condemned already. He that 
believeth shall not come into condemnation." The Apostle 



124 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, enters deeply into the 
argument. He brings the whole world of mankind under 
review, and first gives the character of the Gentiles, and 
then of the Jews, concludes them all under sin, and shows 
the whole world to be guilty before God. From whence he 
draws this conclusion, that by the works of the law, no flesh 
can be justified in the sight of God, for by the law is the 
knowledge of sin. His reasoning here amounts to this plain, 
simple, cogent argument — men can never be justified by the 
law which condemns them. But all men are condemned by 
the Divine law, as transgressors thereof, therefore can never 
be justified by it. The first proposition is self-evident. It 
is a contradiction in terms to assert that men can be justified 
by the self-same law which condemns them. The second 
proposition is clear, from fact and experience — all men have 
violated the Divine law : " There is not a just man upon the 
earth that doeth good and sinneth not. If we say we have 
no sin, the truth is not in us." Therefore the conclusion is 
unavoidable, that by the works of the law, shall no flesh be 
justified in God's sight. We must then either be justified 
by the righteousness of another, or be eternally condemned — 
there is no other alternative. This will further appear, if 
we consider that man's nature is corrupt through deceitful 
lusts. His heart is desperately wicked, and deceitful above 
all things. And who can change his own nature ? Who can 
renew his own heart ? If we can not make one hair white 
or black, much less can we change our spiritual or moral 
nature : " Can the Ethiopean change his color, or the leopard 
his spots ?" But if the heart be not renewed, the life can 
not be holy. If the tree be not good, it can not bear good 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 125 

fruit. If the fountain be poisonous, the streams will be so. 
Out of the corrupt heart will proceed evil thoughts, murders, 
adulteries, etc. Though unregenerate men may not appear 
outwardly vile, yet God judge th the heart. Though they 
may possess many amiable virtues, which render them use- 
ful to society, yet the heart not being renewed, in the sight 
of Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire, their virtues must 
appear essentially defective, as to principle, motive, and end. 
But, supposing men could change their own nature, and 
yield perfect obedience to the Divine law ; this is not all. 
We have already sinned, and an atonement must be made, a 
full satisfaction must be given — and a satisfaction too, suit- 
able to the majesty, dignity, justice, and purity of Him 
whose honor has been stained, law transgressed, and gov- 
ernment disordered. What mere creature could give that, 
in any supposed space of time ? But eternal punishment 
absolutely excludes the idea of salvation. With respect to 
true Christians, it may be remarked, that whatever accept- 
able obedience they offer to God, they are entirely indebted 
to the grace of God for it. The more holy they are, they are 
so much the deeper in debt to sovereign, rich grace ; this 
alone has made them to differ, and consequently they can 
have no pretense to justification by their own works, and 
they are completely justified previously to all this new obedi- 
ence. All mankind are thus concluded under guilt, and 
shut up under the curse of the law ; but how precious ! how 
cheering the truth: " We are justified freely by the grace 
of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith 
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission 



126 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

of sins, etc., that God might be just and the justifier of him 
that believeth in Christ." — Born, iii. " Christ is the end of 
the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." On 
this plan, and no other, there is glory to God in the highest, 
peace on earth, and good-will toward men. This is the sure 
foundation laid in Zion, on which mercy is built up forever. 
It is the scope of the whole Bible to set forth the glory of 
this plan. The apostle Paul counted all things but loss, for 
the excellency of the knowledge of it. Here mercy and 
truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each 
other. This displays the glory of the divine character, sus- 
tains the honor of the divine law, the majesty and perfec- 
tion of the divine government. Mercy is glorified; the 
promise is sure to all the seed ; the interests of virtue and 
true holiness are secured ; the Holy Spirit is given ; the 
sinner's enmity is slain ; and his soul transformed into love, 
supreme love to God and benevolence to men, on which hang 
all the law and the prophets. 

There is one objection, which, as it may stagger some hon- 
est minds, we shall here briefly notice. It has been said 
that the law, stated in the apostle's argument, by which a 
sinner can not be justified, is the Levitical or ceremonial, 
not the moral law. That the apostle includes the Levitical 
law in his argument, can not be denied ; because the cor- 
rupters of the Gospel in his day taught, that except the 
disciples were circumcised and kept the law of Moses, they 
could not be saved — against which the apostle argues in the 
strongest manner. But it is clear that, in his argument, no 
person can be justified by the works of the law ; he intends 
the whole law of Moses given at Mount Sinai — both moral 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 127 

and ceremonial. This is evident beyond a possibility of 
doubt, for in his epistle to the Komans, where he treats de- 
signedly on the subject of justification, he begins with the 
Gentiles, gives their character, shows how odious and vile 
they were, chapter i, and consequently that it was impossible 
they could be justified by the law. Now it is manifest, the 
Gentiles were never under the Levitical or ceremonial law, 
and so could not transgress it ; for where there is no law, 
there is no transgression, and every transgression which he 
imputes to them is a breach of the moral, not of the ceremonial 
law, as will readily appear to any who will peruse the last part 
of the first chapter. He then proceeds to give the character of 
the Jews, chapters ii and iii. And he here quotes a number 
of passages from the Old Testament, in which they are de- 
scribed. " As it is written," says he, " there is none right- 
eous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth ; there 
is none that seeketh after God ; they are all gone out of the 
way. They are together become unprofitable ; there is none 
that doeth good, no not one ; their throat is an open sepul- 
cher ; with their tongues they have used deceit ; the poison 
of asps is under their lips," etc. Now it is clear, all these 
evils are transgressions of the moral, not of the ceremonial 
law. And that he understands these things as spoken of the 
Jews, is evident, for he immediately adds, "Now we know 
that .whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them that 
are under the law ; that every mouth may be stopped, and 
all the world become guilty before God." And from the 
whole draws this conclusion, " Wherefore by the works of 
the law, shall no flesh be justified in his sight." 

Furthermore it is manifest, that the law of which the 



128 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

apostle speaks, is not the ceremonial law only, but the moral 
also ; from the example which he produces of Abraham' s 
justification. He shows that Abraham was justified not by 
the works of the law, but by faith, chap. 4. Now, it is evi- 
dent, that Abraham was never under the Levitical or cere- 
monial law ; for it was not given until the days of Moses. 
But Abraham was under the obligation of precepts strictly 
moral, and indeed all men are so, even the heathen, who have 
a copy of that law written on their hearts. It is true the 
moral law was not given to Abraham in form, as afterward 
to his posterity at mount Sinai : but it is evident, its pre- 
cepts are founded in nature, and are partly manifest from 
the light of nature. Beside, Abraham had all the assist- 
ance of traditionary revelation from the patriarchs who went 
before him ; and immediate revelation from God himself. 
And the apostle supposes him to have performed the works 
of the law. He walked before God in a perfect way, and yet 
was not justified by his own obedience, but by faith. Abra- 
ham had no cause for glorying before God ; he believed God 
and it was counted unto him for righteousness. "Now," 
says the apostle, "to him that worketh is the reward not 
reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, 
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is 
counted for righteousness;" and this was the case with 
Abraham. This will appear further from what the apostle 
says, chap, vii, 4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye are become 
dead to the law, by the body of Christ ; and verse 6, Now 
we are delivered from the law." That is, as we have no 
hopes of justification and life, so neither have we any dread 
of death by it ; but it is clear, from verse 7, that it is the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 129 

moral law chiefly of which he speaks, for he subjoins, " Is 
the law sin ? God forbid. Nay I had not known sin but by 
the law ; for I had not known lust, except the law had said 
thou shaltnot covet." And in verse 22, he says, " I delight 
in the law of G-od after the inward man ;" certainly this 
was the moral law in which Paul delighted ; for the cere- 
monial was abolished to true Christians, and they could have 
no delight in it. This leads us to observe, that while the 
apostle, and all other true Christians had no hopes of life, 
nor fears of death by the law ; being dead to the one, by the 
law itself, to the other by the body of Christ who is the end 
of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth ; at 
the same time being renewed in the spirit of their minds, the 
new nature in them delighted in the divine law as the essen- 
tial rule of righteousness. Further, he says, Galatians iii, 
21, That if there had been a law given, which could have 
given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 
The moral law was certainly a law given, but he affirms no 
given law could give life, or justify the sinner. And in 
chapter iv, it is said, Christ was made under the law to re- 
deem them that were under it ; but the Gentiles were never 
under the ceremonial law, and so could not be redeemed from 
it ; and yet redemption from the law, by the blood of Christ, 
was as needful for them, and extended as really to believers 
among them, as to the Jews. 



11 



130 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE XII. 



OF ADOPTION 



The apostle John exclaims, " Behold what manner of love 
the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the 
sons of God !" And in his Gospel he shows how we become 
his sons. " To as many as received him, (viz : Christ) to 
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them 
that believe in his name." Being united to Christ, we ob- 
tain a joint sonship and a joint heirship with him. Christ 
says, " I ascend to my God and your God ; to my Father and 
your Father:" yours because mine. And if children then 
heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. 

Adoption is an act of God's sovereign grace, whereby he 
translates a child of Satan, an heir of hell, from that dis- 
graceful and miserable state ; into the kingdom of his dear 
Son, and constitutes him, through Christ, his own son and 
an heir of eternal life. Adoption was the privilege of all the 
Saints of God, under the Old Testament, but it is the privi- 
lege of Christians in a higher sense under the Xew. The 
Jewish Church was under tutors and governors ; weak and 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 131 

beggarly elements, suited to her juvenile state. Her condi- 
tion was comparatively servile. God's people, then, were like 
Abraham's seed by Hagar the bondwoman. They were kept 
under bondage and fear. God hid himself comparatively 
from them. They were not admitted to much familiarity 
with their father. The way into the holiest was not made 
manifest ; while the first tabernacle was standing. The vail 
of the temple was not rent. They had not the fullness of the 
Spirit, which was reserved for better times. The inheritance 
in the land of Canaan was an earthly one ; where they often 
met with many troubles, and from it were sometimes driven 
by the nations around. It was not an easy matter to look 
to the end of these things, until they were abolished ; and 
the better things reserved for the Church actually introduced. 
But under the New Testament, the Church is emerged from 
a state of infancy and childhood ; and has attained to a state 
of maturity and liberty. She is no longer under tutors and 
governors ; which kept her at a distance from her father : 
but is admitted to intimate communion with him. God's 
people now are like Abraham's seed by the free-woman : and 
as Isaac, are children of the promise. They have received 
the spirit of adoption, and cry Abba, Father. They are ad- 
mitted to clear and distinct views of heavenly things ; to 
much familiarity with God ; and the lively hopes of a blessed 
immortality. On account of these superior privileges, be- 
lievers under the New Testament are, in an emphatical sense, 
called the sons of God. And to illustrate this, is the scope 
of the apostle's reasoning in the fourth chapter of the epistle 
to the Galatians. From which it is evident, that New Tes- 
tament saints are not only blessed with adoption in Christ ; 



132 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

but enjoy the privilege in its highest and most excellent form, 
in which it can be enjoyed ; until they arrive to the posses- 
sion of it in heaven. 

The inheritance of the saints is truly great ; God is their 
God and portion ; Jesus Christ is their brother ; the spirit 
of adoption dwells in them, leads, comforts, sanctifies and fits 
them for glorifying God ; all things are theirs ; all things 
work for their good ; God is for them and none can be against 
them ; none can lay anything to their charge, for God justi- 
fies them ; nothing can separate them from the love of God ; 
Satan is foiled, sin subdued, the world overcome, death abol- 
ished, the grave vanquished, hell shut up, and heaven opened 
to them. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 133 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



Sanctification and regeneration differ from each other 
not in kind ; but only in degree. In regeneration, the prin- 
ciple of grace and life is implanted ; in sanctification the 
same gracious principle is reared up toward a state of per- 
fection. They both differ from justification and adoption in 
this, that they change the sinner's nature, temper, and dis- 
position ; but justification and adoption only change his rel- 
ative state and character. The word sanctification signifies, 
making holy. And we find it variously applied in Scrip- 
ture. Sometimes it signifies to set apart anything from a 
common and profane use, to a religous purpose ; thus the 
Jewish temple and altar ; Aaron and his sons, are called holy; 
because dedicated to the service of G-od. The Jews were 
called a holy nation ; because they were a people appropri- 
ated to the service of Grod. They dwelt alone and were not 
numbered among the nations. By ceremonial institutions, 
they were distinguished from all nations, and the observa- 
tion of these institutions constituted a ceremonial holiness ; 



134 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

but the sense in which we understand the Word is much 
superior. It signifies that moral purity of nature and life, 
which amounts to an imitation or resemblance of the divine 
purity. 

Sanctification is therefore the work of the Holy Spirit of 
God on the regenerate, whereby they are more and more 
enlightened, quickened, and conformed to the holy image of 
God ; until they come to be fully ripe for glory. To this 
purpose speaks the apostle, Though our outward man decay, 
yet our inward is renewed day by day, and again, grow in 
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
path of the just is compared to the shining light, which 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

Our sanctification springs from a living and efficacious 
faith in Christ's death and resurrection. It is a purchased 
blessing of the new covenant, and is accomplished by the 
Word and Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. True and accept- 
able obedience in the heart and life ; obedience proceeding 
from faith in God and supreme love to him ; obedience 
which sincerely regards the divine law in the hand of a 
mediator, and the pattern which Christ hath set us, as its 
rule ; obedience, which is ultimately directed to the glory of 
God as its chief end, is a plant that grows only in the rich 
soil of Gospel doctrine, and must be daily watered and 
refreshed by the blood of Christ. Virtue of this sort is the 
very image of God. Wherever we see such a person, we see 
the liveliest image of God, that can be seen in this world. 
We see God himself dwelling in him and walking in him. 

We are far from thinking that any of the saints attain 
perfection in holiness in this life. It is at the moment of 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 135 

death they attain it. The leprous house under the law, in 
order to its being perfectly cleansed, behooved to be pulled 
down. Those who talk of their attaining perfection, give 
sufficient evidence that they are lost in the deepest ignorance 
of God, of themselves, of his holy law, and the vileness of 
their own hearts. They know not the exceeding sinfulness 
of sin, which thus lifts them up with pride ; nor the deceit- 
fulness of it, in which its power to destroy doth chiefly con- 
sist. Believers are indeed renewed in the whole man. 
They are sanctified in every part ; but not perfectly in any 
part. They sincerely aim at perfection in every grace and 
in every duty. It is their glory also, that they are all com- 
plete in Christ. His righteousness covers all defects, and 
there is grace in him insured to them, for perfecting them 
in holiness. There is also a comparative perfection among 
them, in respect of which some attain far higher degrees of 
grace and holiness than others. And it is certain, though 
sin may rage and create great disorder and distress 
within them, yet it shall never obtain the dominion ; but 
will be gradually more and more mortified. In them all 
there is a severe conflict ; a spiritual warfare ; and in 
this warfare they may receive many wounds ; but their life 
is safe. Their life is hid with Christ in G-od. The event of 
the battle may often appear dubious to themselves, and at 
intervals the enemy may seem to gain ground; but the 
Lord will see their ways and heal them. He will return 
again and have mercy on them, and cast all their sins into 
the deeps of the sea ; because he delighteth in mercy. He 
will again and again renew the work of grace in them. And 
it is worthy of observation, that he renews it in much the 



136 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

same manner as he began it at first. He revives convic- 
tions ; gives a fresh alarm to the conscience ; brings them 
under a deep sense of sin and misery ; and then proceeds to 
give a renewed manifestation of Christ the Saviour ; raises 
the soul to the renewed exercise of faith in him, and deep 
repentance toward God. 

We have said already, that the Spirit of God, even in 
regeneration, never operates on the soul of man, but in the 
way of awakening the powers of the mind to action. This 
is true especially in the work of sanctification. When he 
begins his operations, which are necessary to regeneration ; 
he finds the soul in that state which is emphatically called 
spiritual and moral death. The understanding clouded with 
ignorance ; the will in a state of enmity against God ; the 
conscience slumbering ; and the affections, earthly, sensual 
and devilish. But in regeneration the soul is delivered 
from the dominion of this death. The understanding is in 
part enlightened ; the will renewed ; the conscience awak- 
ened and purged ; and the affections in some measure puri- 
fied. This divine life is never totally lost : but by the re- 
newed operations of the Spirit is fanned, and increased, and 
called forth to action. The spirit of grace is in them as a 
well of living water ; springing up to everlasting life. It 
springs up in renewed convictions, acts of faith, repentance, 
love, holy affections and good works ; sometimes more copi- 
ously, sometimes more sparingly : but never entirely ceases. 

This view of the subject serves to show, the infinite wis- 
dom of God in his various modes of address to his people ; 
all which are calculated to stimulate them to action ; to re- 
new their hopes and fears. " Let us run with patience 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 137 

the race set before us. Let us so run that we may obtain. 
Let us take heed lest a promise being left us, of entering 
into his rest, any of us should come short of it. How shall 
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. I press 
toward the mark, that I may obtain the prize of the high 
calling of God in Christ. I keep under my body, and bring 
it into subjection ; lest while I preach Christ to others, I 
myself should be a cast-away. If ye live after the flesh ye 
shall die : but if ye through the spirit, do mortify the deeds 
of the body ye shall live." To the same purpose are all the 
precepts, promises, warnings and threatenings contained in 
the AVord of God. And on the same plan we see the infinite 
wisdom of God, in appointing all the institutions of the 
Gospel, such as the reading of the Scriptures, hearing the 
Word preached, the holy Sabbath, the holy sacraments, 
prayer, brotherly admonition, reproof, meditation, self exam- 
ination, and renewing our covenant with God. To sum up 
the whole, the grand mean of our sanctification, is frequently 
to behold the Lamb of God. In him, in his sufferings and 
death, we obtain the clearest views of the vileness of sin ; 
around his cross the terrors of God's justice stand in terrible 
array, while mercy shines on us from thence with the most 
amiable luster. Here the love of God is manifested in all 
its glory, and holiness puts on the most winning and charm- 
ing aspect. In the face of Jesus we see the glory of God, 
and are transformed into the same image from glory to 
glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. 



138 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The fourteenth chapter treats of saving faith. Faith in 
general is the belief of a testimony. Divine faith is the be- 
lief of the divine testimony. The whole Word of God is the 
object of this divine faith. It extends to precepts, threat- 
enings, histories, doctrines and promises. But more particu- 
larly, saving faith is that grace wrought in the heart of a 
sinner, by the Spirit of God ; whereby he believes the re- 
cord of God, concerning his Son Jesus Christ. He that 
believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he be- 
lieveth not the record, that God gave of his Son ; and this 
is the record that God hath given unto us eternal life, 
and this life is in his Son, 1 John v, 10, 11. It is essential 
to saving faith, not only that we believe the history of facts 
recorded in the Gospel concerning Christ : but also that we 
believe in the declared end and design of these facts. It is 
recorded not only that the Son of God became man ; was 
made under the law : obeyed and died : but that he did so for 
the salvation of sinners. And it is manifest, that wherever 
we have the history of Christ's obedience and death, there is 
another idea that accompanies these ; they are always point- 
ed out as the foundation on which we may expect eternal 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 139 

life. And a belief of the facts, without looking for the end 
of them, would amount to a belief, that Christ obeyed and 
died in vain. And were all men to believe the first, without 
the last; we should have all men believing that Christ 
obeyed and died to no purpose. 

Faith in Christ is frequently represented as a receiving 
him. He is the gift of God to a lost world, and he is a gift 
revealed, offered, and conveyed in a testimony. The gift is 
therefore received by believing or receiving the testimony 
which conveys it. We are said to receive a testimony or 
report, when we believe the truth of it. When we do not 
believe the report to be true, we are said to reject it. To 
receive the report of the Gospel is therefore to believe it to 
be true. But this belief must extend to the whole report, 
as has been said, not only to the record of facts ; but also 
to the gracious end and design of them ; that is, we must 
believe it to be true, not only that Jesus obeyed and died: 
but also that he did so, in order that we might obtain eter- 
nal life through him. 

The history of the Gospel is not the only object of faith ; 
but the promise also of eternal life in Christ is so ; and to 
believe the truth of the promise, is no more than to believe 
the declared end and design of Christ's obedience and death ; 
which necessarily implies a trusting in Christ for eternal 
life. And this act of trusting is so essential to faith, that 
without it, faith can never correspond fully with its object. 
But it is not for the salvation of others that we trust in 
Christ. No, it is for our own salvation. A general belief 
that there is salvation in Christ for men, will not calm the 
alarmed conscience of an awakened sinner. He feels him- 



140 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

self condemned and miserable, and he must have a ground 
to hope for salvation to himself, before he can find rest to 
his soul. He can not be nourished by the bread of life, un- 
less he eat it ; nor refreshed by the water of life, unless he 
drink it ; he can not be healed by the leaves of the tree of 
life, unless he apply them ; he can not be sheltered from the 
storm, unless he retreat under Christ's shadow by an act of 
trust and reliance on him for his own salvation. This par- 
ticular application in faith, is pointed out in these words : 
" Surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness 
and strength. One shall say I am the Lord's." If this doc- 
trine of appropriation in faith be set aside, it will exclude 
faith from the world altogether. For if one man have no 
ground or warrant to believe in Christ for his own salvation ; 
it is clear another has as little ; and all men are in the same 
predicament. The consequence is plain, there is not a per- 
son on the face of the earth, that does believe, or has any 
ground to believe in Christ for his own salvation. The 
only evasion here, must be, that one man believes in 
Christ for the salvation of some other person, and that other 
person believes in him for the salvation of the former ; and 
thus we should have all men believing for others, and 
none for themselves : such a faith is chimerical and absurd ; 
without foundation in Scripture or reason. And therefore 
without appropriation there could be no faith at all in the 
world ; and yet without it, there would be no unbelief in 
the Church. Lor all church members will allow the G-ospel 
in general to be true. Unbelievers in the Church are charge- 
able with that sin, only in not believing the truth of 
God's Word with application to themselves. They do not 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 141 

believe the law in this manner, and so are not alarmed ; 
consequently see no necessity for applying the comforts of 
the Gospel. They rest in a general opinion that the Gospel 
is true ; which falls far short of the lively faith, by which a 
man trusts in Christ for his own salvation. Application is 
therefore the main point in faith. It is that alone which 
designates a person a believer, and the want of it an unbe- 
liever. It is the hinge on which the decision of our charac- 
ter as believers does turn. 

This application in faith of its glorious object, does not 
proceed upon any previous knowledge, that the person has of 
his election ; nor that Christ died intentionally for him 
more than for others ; for it is impossible to come to the 
knowledge of these things, but in consequence of, or posterior 
to believing. Nor does it go upon the perception of any 
good qualities in the sinner, to distinguish him from others. 
Every good quality in the soul is the fruit of faith, and 
therefore cannot be the cause. But it proceeds solely on the 
free, unlimited and gracious call, offer and promise of the 
Gospel to the chief of sinners; the sinner perceives, that 
the call, offer, or promise is addressed to him as well as 
others. Though his name be not mentioned; he sees his 
character described. Bring in hither the poor, the maimed, 
the halt , and the blind. And so he ventures on the grace of 
God ; and throws himself over on divine mercy and faith- 
fulness. He did not find his name mentioned in the accu- 
sations of the law, and yet justly applied them ; with equal 
justice he applies the free and general offer of the Gospel, 
though his name be not specified. He reasons much in th e 
same manner as the lepers did ; if we stay here, said they, 



142 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

we must unavoidably perish ; if we go out to the camp of 
the Syrians, we can only perish. They went out with a 
peradventure, but their peradventures were soon turned into 
a glorious certainty; and so it is often with distressed 
souls. 

This leads us to remark, that saving faith admits of va- 
rious degrees. It may be weak or strong, little or great ; 
just as the truth of the testimony believed is more or less 
evident to the mind ; and as the character of Glod, the speaker, 
appears more obscurely or clearly. If these appear, clearly 
and fully, then we will believe with a full assurance. It is 
not without reason, that our Protestant divines plead for a 
fiducia, a confidence, or assurance in the very nature of faith, 
in a greater or less degree ; for in the nature of things, it is 
just according to the assurance we have of the truth of a tes- 
timony, that we may be said to give credit to it, or believe 
it. If our assurance of the truth of it be strong, our faith 
will be strong ; if our assurance of the truth of it be weak, 
our faith will be weak ; and if we have no assurance of the 
truth of it at all, we will have no faith or belief of it at all. 
And though the truth of the divine testimony be invariably 
the same, yet it does not always appear so to the believer. 
It is only in proportion as the Spirit of God elucidates the 
truth of it. and impresses it on the mind, that he can dis- 
cern it. It is his office to take of the things that are Christ's, 
and show them unto us. This assurance in the nature of 
faith, must be carefully distinguished from the assurance of 
sense. The assurance of sense, is a firm persuasion that we 
are already in a state of grace, and is grounded upon our 
Christian experience, or a perception of the distinguishing 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 143 

marks of saving grace in us. But the assurance of faith 
has its dependence upon the evidence of the truth believed ; 
which, in saving faith, is the authority of God, who cannot 
lie, speaking in his Word ; and this made evident to the 
mind by the Holy Spirit. 

Great things are ascribed to faith in Scripture. We are 
justified by faith ; sanctified by it ; and this is the victory 
which overcometh the world, even our faith. Faith is the 
shield by which we quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. 
And in the eleventh of the Hebrews, the greatest achieve- 
ments that were ever done in this world, are ascribed to 
faith ; and yet faith itself, as an act of the mind, is repre- 
sented as the most simple, easy thing in nature. It is a 
hearing Christ's voice. Isaiah lv, " Hear and your souls 
shall live." It is a coming to him. " Come to me all ye 
that are weary and heavy laden." It is to receive Christ as 
a gift. " To as many as received him," etc. To look to 
him. "Look to me, all ye ends of the earth," etc. It is to 
sit down when we are neither able to walk nor stand any 
longer, "I sat down under his shadow," etc. Hence it is 
manifest, that the whole efiicacy of faith, is derived from 
its object. By faith we are united to Jesus Christ, and it 
invests the soul with a kind of omnipotence ; for its object is 
the omnipotent Saviour, and thus the believer can look back 
on all that is past, and forward to all that is to come with- 
out fear. He can do all things through Christ strengthen- 
ing him, and endure all afflictions, as seeing him who is 
invisible. 

We have said, that the immediate ground and warrant of 
saving faith is, the free, the generous, and unlimited offer of 



144 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

salvation in Christ, to ail that hear the Gospel. " Go, says 
Christ, and preach the Gospel to every creature ; he that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Faith comes by hear- 
ing, and hearing by the Word of God." Some have, indeed, 
alleged, that it is improper, in preaching the Gospel, to 
make any offers of salvation to men ; that all we can do with 
propriety, is only to testify the bare truths and facts of the 
Gospel, and set before men the evidence of these truths and 
facts ; which they will believe, or not believe, as the evidence 
appears or does not appear to their minds. This is plausible 
enough, and would be just too, were the Gospel no more than 
a collection of speculative truths and facts. But it is false 
and dangerous, and will appear so to be, when we consider 
that in the ministry of the Gospel, a gift is presented to us 
to be received by us. This gift is eternal life. " The wages 
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. He that believeth not the record of 
God hath made him a liar ; and this is the record, that he 
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." 
The salvation of sinners is ever represented, as the end pro- 
posed by Christ, in his obedience and death ; and it is absurd 
to preach these truths and facts, without pointing to their 
blessed end and design ; or in other words, without offering 
salvation or eternal life, as the free gift of God to sinners 
through Jesus Christ. And truly, men can not, in the scrip- 
tural sense of the words, believe that Jesus is the Christ, 
that he obeyed and died, as recorded in the Gospel, unless 
they believe in him for eternal life, or receive the gift of sal- 
vation presented to them in him. True Christians not only 
believe something concerning Christ, but also believe in him 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 145 

for something. They not only believe that he obeyed and 
died, but also trust in him for their own salvation, as the 
declared end and design of his obedience and death. Tor 
saith the apostle Peter, " We believe that through the grace 
of our Lord Jesus we shall be saved even as they." When 
Christ commanded his disciples to go into all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every creature, he surely did not mean 
only, go and tell them that the Son of God obeyed and died 
and rose again, while they concealed the grand end and glo- 
rious purpose for which he did so ; no, but go and proclaim 
liberty to the captives, salvation to the lost, life to the dead, 
pardon and peace to the guilty, and eternal felicity to the 
heirs of hell, through his obedience and death; hence the 
whole Gospel is often comprised in its blessed end and design, 
" Unto you is the Word of this salvation sent. God hath 
sent him to bless you, etc. Life and immortality are brought 
to light by the Gospel. Go speak to the people all the words 
of this life." 

This life must be preached to every creature, " Freely ye 
have received, says Christ, freely give." The offer must be 
made to all without exception. The promises must be pre- 
sented to sinners, in connection with the history of truths 
and facts, to be embraced by them as an object of faith. 

It is absurd to suspend the offer of the Gospel on any good 
quality, whatsoever, to be previously produced in the crea- 
ture ; call it contrition, humiliation, repentance, or by any 
other name. It is true, none will ever fly to Christ until 
they be sensible of their danger. But to suspend the offer of 
salvation on this or anything else, would be going blindly 

to work ; for how shall Gospel ministers know, who are truly 
12 



146 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

sensible of their sin and misery, and who not ? Who have 
attained the necessary degree of sensibility, and who not ? 
And it is clear, from experience, that those who are most 
awakened, are most ready to complain of the hardness of 
their hearts ; their want of true repentance, contrition, etc. 
It is, therefore, safest to proceed in the way which the Lord 
himself hath marked out ; to throw the Grospel net among 
all ; to invite all to come and take the water of life freely ; 
to take it without money and without price. We know of 
no qualifications necessary to entitle a person to the offer of 
grace and salvation through Christ ; but that he be a sinner 
of the human kind, who needs a Saviour. We must come to 
Jesus as sinners, the chief of sinners. We must come as we 
really are, and can never prepare ourselves by unbelief, or 
keeping at a distance. It is therefore dangerous to teach, 
that we may not come to Christ, nor trust in him for salva- 
tion, unless we have previously repented of our sins, and 
practiced new obedience. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 147 



CHAPTEE XV. 

The fifteenth chapter treats of repentance unto life. Ee- 
pentance is, in a figurative sense, ascribed to G-od himself. 
It is said, the Lord repented that he had made man, and he 
repented concerning Nineveh. In this case it points out, not 
a change of mind, but of conduct. The Divine mind cannot 
change. God is of one mind, and who can turn him. Known 
unto him are all his works from the beginning. And it is 
worthy of our attention, that the supreme Euler always 
adapts his dispensations to the moral state and character of 
a nation or people. When Nineveh was impenitent like the 
old world, it was on the brink of destruction. But when 
Nineveh repented it was the object of mercy. Accordingly, 
Jehovah says, at what time I shall speak concerning a nation ; 
to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it : if that na- 
tion turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I 
thought to do unto them. Jeremiah i, 6, 7. 

But repentance, in its proper sense, is ascribed to men ; 
and in this sense it signifies a change of mind as well as 
conduct. This is commonly distinguished into legal and 
evangelical. Legal repentance is the fruit of the spirit of 



148 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

bondage ; and produces fear and sorrow. It may be accom- 
panied with an external and temporary reformation ; as in 
the case of Ahab, and perhaps of Nineveh. But the spirit 
of Christ, acting as the spirit of the new covenant, is very 
different. And in this last character, he is the author of 
evangelical repentance. This repentance includes a deep 
sense of sin ; not only of its evil consequences, but of the vile- 
ness and odiousness of sin itself. By the law is the knowl- 
edge of sin. Therefore, there is in evangelical repentance, 
the very same thing which there is in the other ; a percep- 
tion of the obligation of the law ; a conviction that we have 
broken it, and on account of this deserve the wages of sin, 
viz : death in its utmost extent. But evangelical repentance 
includes much more ; it implies saving faith, or an apprehen- 
sion of the mercy of God in Christ. True repentance is not 
the effect of a bare manifestation of the power, justice, and 
wrath of God in the law, for then the damned in hell would 
be the greatest penitents ; such a manifestation does not 
soften the heart, nor dissolve it into godly sorrow ; such peni- 
tents harden in the fire of God's wrath : but a discovery of 
redeeming love, of infinite mercy, as it reigns through the 
blood of Christ, effectually melts the sinner into grief for sin, 
hatred of it, and love to that good God, who graciously par- 
dons it through the infinite atonement of his dear Son. And 
this divine temper necessarily implies the strongest resolu- 
tions against sin, and endeavors after true holiness. 

We find repentance thus stated in the divine oracles, 
Zechariah xii, 10: "They shall look on him whom they 
have pierced and shall mourn.' ' It is impossible to behold 
Jesus bleeding on the cross, as a victim to justice for our 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 149 

sins, and immediately turn from that sight to the commis- 
sion of sin. The prophet says, After I was turned, I re- 
pented. Turned, how ? Surely by faith. We cannot turn 
to Christ but by faith. Christ is exalted a Prince and a 
Saviour to give repentance. But how do we receive any 
blessing from Christ ? Surely by faith. 

Indeed, the divine life is one gracious principle in the 
soul ; but receives different designations, from the different 
lights in which it views its object. As believing the testi- 
mony of the Gospel, it is called faith ; as exercised about 
sin, it is called repentance, etc. ; thus in the order of time 
there is no priority or posteriority of one grace to another. 
But in the order of nature, repentance is posterior to faith. 
We insist the more on this, because teaching that true re- 
pentance is prior to faith, necessarily involves the soul in 
much perplexity. It is to point out something as a prelimi- 
nary to our acceptance of the Saviour ; it is insisting on our 
bringing a price for the water of life. It is like teaching a 
person first to heal himself, at least in part, and then come 
to the physician ; whereas the Gospel teaches uniformly that 
we must come to Christ as we are — poor and maimed, halt 
and blind. We must not delay one moment, thinking first 
to become true penitents. Were this notion embraced, great 
doubts would arise as to what degree of repentance is pre- 
viously necessary, and whether the person possess that de- 
gree. The Gospel plan is: be of good cheer, rise immediately, 
behold he calleth thee. Many times God's own children 
cannot draw near to him in the character of penitents. But 
there is another character in which they may always come ; 
as poor miserable sinners that need a Saviour. 



150 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

The sixteenth chapter treats of good works. Good works 
are the native fruits of saving faith and sincere repentance. 
Eeligion is justly distinguished into two branches — doctrinal 
and practical. It is difficult to say which of them is most 
important. They give a distorted view of religion, who say 
that it avails little what a man's principles be, if his prac- 
tice be good. Not to insist that this way of speaking pro- 
ceeds on a false hypothesis ; that our practice may be good 
while our principles are bad, whereas it is certain that loose 
principles will produce loose practices ; it may be remarked 
that it cannot be of small importance, whether the same mind 
be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. Whether we think 
as God thinks, or think in direct opposition to him ; or in 
other words, whether we be taught by the Spirit of God or 
not, and have communion with God, angels, and the spirits 
of just men made perfect, or not. The Word of God testifies 
that Jehovah searches the heart and trieth the reins ; and as 
a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, in his estimation. 
And a good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, 
bringeth forth good things ; and an evil man, out of the evil 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 151 

treasure of his heart, bringcth forth evil things ; for out of 
the unsanetified heart do proceed evil thoughts, murders, 
adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. 
This shows the necessity of our being renewed in the spirit 
of our minds, in order to a holy life. Make the tree good 
and its fruit shall be good, says Christ. In the foregoing 
chapters our Confession treats of the great and fundamental 
doctrines of religion. This is the foundation. In this it 
treats of good works, which are like the superstructure. 
And this is correspondent to the form of the apostolical 
epistles, which begin with the doctrines and conclude with 
the duties of religion. Yea, this scheme answers exactly to 
the tenor of the new covenant, in which grace is promised to 
enable to the performance of duty. And Christ shows, 
John xv, that we must be united to him before we can bring 
forth fruit. 

It is essentially necessary to good works, that they be re- 
quired by the law of God. Human inventions can meet 
with no acceptance before God. In vain do they worship 
me, says he, teaching for doctrines the commandments of 
men. By good works we understand, obedience to the whole 
moral law, comprehending our duty to God and man ; or 
what are commonly called the duties of religion and moral 
virtue. A pretended zeal for religious duties, without a re- 
gard to virtue, is gross hypocrisy. Moral virtue, without an 
attention to the duties we owe to God, must stand on a very 
insecure foundation, and argues gross stupidity and hardness 
of heart. The two conjoined, and proceeding from true faith 
in Jesus Christ, supreme love to God, and ultimately pointed 
to his glory, form the truly great and noble character. 



152 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

The great importance of good works, in this view, will 
appear from the following considerations: First, it is the 
great end of all evangelical and practical principles, that we 
reduce them to practice. Indeed, practical principles are of 
no use at all, unless we reduce them to practice, They are 
but vain speculations, and their nature and design is contra- 
dicted and defeated. It had been better not to have known the 
way of righteousness, than after we have known it, to turn 
from the holy commandment. If I had not come and spoken 
unto you, says Christ, you would have had no sin, that is, 
comparatively ; but now ye have no cloak for your sin. To sin 
against light, is to sin with a high hand. To sin against 
the light of the Gospel, is to despise the riches of redeeming 
love, and do despite to the Spirit of grace. Secondly, By 
good works, as above described, we become like God. He is 
good, and ever doing good. His goodness extends to all, 
and his tender mercies are over all his other works. His 
goodness is manifested in two ways ; in giving and forgiving. 
In like manner true Christians must conduct themselves ; 
and thus they become living images of God ; God is visible 
in them, and glorified by them. Thirdly, It was one grand 
end of the whole of Christ's undertaking, of his incarnation, 
obedience, and sufferings, to destroy the works of the devil, 
and consequently to promote good works. Beside, while his 
obedience satisfied the law for us in its covenant form, 
therein he set us an example that we should follow his 
steps. Fourthly, Good works are the fruits and evidence of 
our union to Christ. " Abide in me, and I in you, so shall 
ye bring forth much fruit." And he declares that every 
tree which beareth not fruit shall be hewn down and cast 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 153 

into the fire. Fifthly, They arc the fruits of his Spirit in 
believers. His Spirit is in them a well of life springing 
up to everlasting life ; they through the Spirit do mortify 
the deeds of the body. He worketh in them both to will 
and to do of his good pleasure. Sixthly, The rewards of 
heaven are promised to good works: " Come, ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom," etc. " I was hungry and 
ye gave me meat; thirsty, and ye gave me drink," etc. All 
who have their fruit unto holiness, shall in the end obtain 
everlasting life. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, 
they rest from their labors and their works do follow them. 
Seventhly, It may be said, this is heaven come down into 
the soul of man, and a high anticipation of the glory to be 
revealed. Eighthly, This is the end of our election. " I 
have chosen you," says Christ, " and ordained you, that ye 
should go and bring forth fruit." Ninthly, The end of our 
regeneration. We are his workmanship created again in 
Christ Jesus unto good works, which G-od hath before or- 
dained, that we should walk in them. The whole doctrine 
of the grace of God, in justification, adoption, and sanctifica- 
tion, teacheth us, "that denying ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
present world." And a life spent in the service of God will 
afford pleasant reflections on a death-bed. " This is our re- 
joicing, the testimony of our conscience ; that in simplicity 
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the 
grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." 
" I am now ready to be offered," says Paul, " and the time 
of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I 
have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Hence- 
13 



154 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

forth is laid up for ine a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me at that day ; and 
not to me only, but to all them that love his appearance. 
God will render to every man according to his works ; to 
them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for 
glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life." Eomans 
ii, 7. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 155 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

The seventeenth chapter treats of the perseverance of the 
saints. On this subject it may he of great service to state 
the question with precision. The question, then, is not, 
whether some, who have made a shining profession of reli- 
gion, may not totally and finally fall away. Doubtless there 
have been not a few of such ; as Christ teaches in the para- 
ble of the sower who went to sow his seed. Secondly, The 
question is not, whether true believers may not, through the 
power and prevalence of indwelling sin, the strength of 
temptation, and the allurements of the world, fall far back 
from former attainments in grace and holiness. This can 
not be denied. It is manifest from several instances in 
G-od's Word: but it is clear that grace again revived in 
them. They were restored to repentance. And it is a great 
proof of the wisdom and mercy of Glod, that such instances 
are recorded ; that when God's children are cast down, they 
may not utterly despair ; as one, not without a good mean- 
ing, said, Two things give me great consolation — the per- 
fection of Christ's righteousness, and the imperfections of 
the saints. Thirdly, The question is not, whether Christ- 



156 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

ians shall persevere to eternal life by a kind of necessity, 
which excludes spontaneity or free agency. There is no 
such thing in human nature. The will is free and can not 
be forced. It is inclined and determined by the grace of 
God. Though God's decree and purpose of salvation be im- 
mutable, yet, like all his other purposes respecting men, it 
does not exclude the rational choice and free agency of the 
creature. Fourthly, Nor is the question, whether they per- 
severe in a way, that renders their own exertions unneces- 
sary ? By no means. Man is riot a piece of wood or stone. 
And, as has been formerly remarked, the Spirit of God never 
moves the soul, but in the way of awakening its powers to 
action. In short, they are kept from falling, partly through 
a fear of falling, and the hopes of eternal life to them that 
endure to the end. 

But the question is, whether any person, savingly united 
to Jesus Christ, shall be so far forsaken of God, as utterly to 
cast off fear and restrain prayer before him, and so perish 
eternally with the damned? We think not, because the 
purpose of God, according to election, shall stand. The 
foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal, 
the Lord knoweth them that are his. Believers are kept 
by the power of God, through faith unto salvation. The 
gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Their 
life is hid with Christ in God ; and therefore when he who 
is their life shall appear, they shall appear also with him in 
glory. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. 
The chain of blessings, Eom. viii, cannot be broken. God 
made every link of it, and inseparably connected them. The 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 157 

covenant is well ordered in all things and sure : it contains 
the sure mercies of David ; if one may be utterly lost for 
whom Christ died, and whom he hath called and sanctified ; 
so may ten, yea, ten thousand, and by the same reason all 
that were given to him. Thus God our Saviour must have 
been uncertain, when he died, whether his blood might not 
be shed in vain. There was no certainty in these promises 
made to him, " He shall see his seed, etc. He shall see of 
the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied," Isai. liii. And 
if any do persevere on this scheme, it must be owing, not to 
the grace of the new covenant, but to their own endeavors ; 
which leads us to the popish doctrine of salvation by works, 
in the fullest sense of the words. Christ's intercession is an 
eternal rock on which the Church is built. " I have prayed 
for thee, says he, that thy faith fail not. My Father, says 
he, is stronger than all, and none shall pluck them out of 
his hands. And he adds, none shall be able to pluck them 
out of my hands." He is able to save to the uttermost all 
that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make in- 
tercession for them. Who shall lay anything to the charge 
of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. If God be for 
us who can be against us ? Who shall separate us from 
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, etc.? All this is 
perfectly consistent with free agency in them, and does by 
no means supersede, but rather infer the necessity of their 
exertions. When Cyrus was told by Daniel, that he was 
the person appointed by Jehovah to emancipate the captives 
at Babylon, this animated the prince to give orders accord- 
ingly. The means and the end are alike in God's purpose ; 
and stand in an inseparable connection. Believers are chosen 



158 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

to salvation, but it is through sanctification of the Spirit, 
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and belief of the truth. 
It seems to be the will of God, that all his purposes respect- 
ing the government, and redemption of the world, should 
take effect by the operation of a series of secondary causes ; 
at the head of which subordinate series, he himself stands as 
the great and first Cause, which gives energy and efficacy to 
the whole : in a manner indeed quite incomprehensible to us, 
but always adapted to the nature of these secondary causes ; 
whether they be necessary, contingent, or rational and vol- 
untary. Finally, we cannot believe that a man may be a 
child of God, to-day, and a child of the devil to-morrow ; 
an heir of heaven to-day, and an heir of hell to-morrow ; 
and on the same scheme next day, or next hour, shifting 
sides again ; and so every day and hour of life. The admi- 
nistration of the kingdom of nature is not so fluctuating : 
much less the administration of the kingdom of grace. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 159 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

The eighteenth chapter treats of the assurance of grace 
and salvation. We I ave already spoken of the persuasion, 
assurance, or certainty which is essential to the nature of 
saving faith; founded upon the truth of the divine testi- 
mony in the Word ; and that made evident to the soul by 
the Spirit of God. But the assurance treated of in this 
chapter is of a different kind. It is an assurance that we 
are already in a state of grace. The question on the first 
point is this. Is the Scriptural testimony true or not ? But 
on this second point, the question is. Am I possessed of 
saving faith in the divine testimony ? Am I already in a 
state of union to Christ ? And it is evident, that the more 
lively and strong the direct act of faith in the divine testi- 
mony be ; the more r:adily shall we attain a certainty that 
we are possessed of it. Faith, in this respect, may be com- 
pared to the sun, which not only discovers other objects ; 
but also itself. By the direct act of faith in the divine 
testimony, the believer says, I am the Lord's ; I accept of 
him as given to me in the record of Grod, and according to 
his commandment, I give or surrender myself to him. We 



160 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

all know that when a person enlists himself a soldier in the 
service of the state ; by the very act of enlistment, he says, I 
am the servant of the state ; so likewise by the first act of 
saving faith, the believer says, I am the Lord's servant. 
This sentence becomes true as uttered by faith. It was 
not true before ; that is, it was not true that the person was 
enlisted in Christ's service, or had accepted him ; before he 
really was, and did so : but it becomes a truth by the very 
act of believing or acceptance. This plain truth is the very 
thing, against which such a mighty uproar has been raised, 
as being one of the grossest absurdities, and what some call 
a manufacturing truth without evidence. Now it is mani- 
fest, when this acceptance and surrender is clear, distinct 
and explicit : it must go far to free the person's mind of 
doubts and ascertain the truth of his gracious state. 

But there is another way of ascertaining this truth, and 
that is by self-examination. The believer, studying the 
distinguishing marks and characters of true Christians, laid 
down in the Word of G-od, comparing these with what he 
finds in himself, and perceiving that he is possessed of them ; 
cannot help drawing the conclusion, that he is in a gracious 
state. There seems to be another way of attaining this 
assurance, when by the candle of the Lord shining clearly 
on the soul, by a plerophory or full manifestation of the love 
of God, and the Spirit bearing witness with his spirit that 
he is a child of G-od ; the believer is overwhelmed with the 
glory of divine things, and is placed beyond a possibility of 
doubting his interest in Christ. This last is a prelibation 
of heaven, a foretaste of glory, and a rare attainment. The 
sensible assurance, of which we speak, is what believers may 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 161 

be long without, and may, after obtaining it, have it much 
weakened, through the power of sin and temptation, but even 
in this dark, perplexed state, they may have some degree of 
faith in the divine Word, and somewhat of a lively hope in 
the promise. The question which distresses them in this 
case, is not so much, whether they believe God's Word, and 
hope in it, at least in an inferior degree ; as whether their 
faith and hope be of the true, genuine kind. 

This sensible assurance cannot be preferred without close 
walking with God in all his ordinances and commandments 
blameless. It requires constant watchfulness, and much 
diligence in the paths of religion and godliness. We should 
earnestly study to say in the whole train of our conversation ; 
that we are the Lord's. "We should determinately appear 
on the Lamb's side, in the grand conflict between him and 
the world. 



162 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

This chapter treats of the law of God, and states a dis- 
tinction between the law as vested with the form of a cove- 
nant, and the same law as stripped of that form ; and doubt- 
less this distinction is well founded. It was given to Adam 
as a covenant of works, or as it stated a connection between 
his obedience, and his life, and between his disobedience 
and his death. And all his posterity in their fallen state 
are so far under it in that form, that they cannot enter into 
life without fulfilling its precepts and enduring its penalty, 
either in their own persons, or by an acceptance of the 
surety. In their own persons it is altogether impossible to 
fulfill its demands, and be saved. So that none are saved 
but through faith in the righteousness of Christ ; and all 
who fly to him are saved, in agreeableness to the terms or 
demands of the covenant of works. It has been alleged, 
that Adam's posterity are not under the perceptive part of 
the covenant of works, but only under its penalty. Surely 
it cannot be said, that the moral law is not obligatory on 
Adam's posterity since the fall, for this would at once wipe 
the world clean of sin ; because where there is no law there 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 1G3 

is no transgression. The obligation of the precept is indis- 
pensable in every state in which men can possibly be in this 
world. And it is the peculiar privilege of true believers to 
be under it, only as a rule of life. Therefore if it be obli- 
gatory at all on unbelievers it must be in the form of a cov- 
enant ; but a covenant already violated by them, and conse- 
quently a covenant by which they can have no rational ex- 
pectation of life ; but on the contrary inevitable death, or 
the fullest execution of the threatening, if they do not em- 
brace the Saviour, and the covenant of mercy revealed in 
him. This is manifestly the doctrine of the Scriptures; 
the apostle affirms, "As many as are of the works of the 
law are under the curse ;" in which sentence he distinguishes 
between the precept and penalty, and supposes unbelievers 
to be under both. And according to him, the reason of their 
being under the curse or penalty, is their being under the 
precept, and indeed it is evident no law can have a condemn- 
ing power over men, unless it had and have a commanding 
power over them. But this truth is further evident from 
the following words of the apostle : " I was alive once without 
the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and 
I died ;" that is, he imagined that while a Pharisee, he was 
a lively saint : but the commandment came, or was power- 
fully applied to his conscience ; he felt its authority demand- 
ing perfect obedience ; sin then revived, for by the law is the 
knowledge of sin ; "I had not known sin, says he, but by 
the law I had not known lust, except the law had said thou 
shalt not covet ;" when the law thus came and sin revived, 
he died ; the law slew him, or destroyed his false peace and 
groundless hopes. 



164 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

But it will be said, does God require any man to seek life 
by the covenant of works ? Grod requires all men to seek 
life in sucli a manner as will fulfill its demands, and declares 
none shall enter into life without a complete fulfillment both 
of precept and penalty ; thus the obligation of that covenant 
on the sinner, both in precept and penalty, is the ground- 
work of Christ's obedience and death. When Christ told 
the young ruler, " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the com- 
mandments," no doubt he graciously meant to convince him 
of sin, and show him the necessity of coming as a poor sinner 
to the Saviour : but he also intended to establish the obliga- 
tion of the law both in precept and penalty. This obligation 
is, therefore, not inconsistent with the obligation under which 
gospel-hearers are to believe in Christ for eternal life ; so far 
from it, that the last presupposes the first, or our obligation 
by the Grospel to seek righteousness and salvation in Christ, 
proceeds on the hypothesis of the law's just demands upon 
us, both for a perfect obedience, and complete atonement. 

It is the privilege of true believers in Christ, to be deliv- 
ered from the covenant of works or the law in that form. 
They are not under the law, but under grace. Christ was 
made of a woman, and made under the law ; to redeem them 
that were under the law, that they might receive the adop- 
tion of sons. The apostle says, " Ye are dead and your life 
is hid with Christ in Grod;" and in several places of Scrip- 
ture, they are said to be dead to the law ; surely not as a 
rule of duty,|but only in the form of a covenant. And they 
are so in a twofold sense. They have no hopes of life by 
any conformity to its precepts, of which they are capable : 
says Paul, " I through the law am dead to the law. By the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 165 

powerful application of the law to my conscience, says he, by 
its high demands on me a poor impotent sinner ; I am con- 
vinced I can expect nothing from it but death. I renounce 
all hopes of life by it." But has he not reason then to be 
afraid of its curse ? No, he is dead to all fears of that too ; 
and how so? He replies, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye are 
become dead to the law through the body of Christ. " By 
the body of Christ he means his crucified body ; or indeed 
the whole of his mediatorial righteousness. Christ is the 
end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth ; 
and thus the sinner, united to Christ, is freed from the cove- 
nant of works. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in 
all true Christians. Their faith is counted unto them for 
righteousness. Not the act, but the object of faith, to wit, 
Christ. 

But while we zealously contend, that believers in Christ 
are delivered from the law in its covenant form, with equal 
zeal we maintain, the obligation of the whole moral law on 
them, as a rule of life. They are not without the law to 
God, but under the law to Christ ; the Spirit of Cod writes 
his law upon their hearts, and puts it into their minds ; 
Christ is made of God unto them, sanctification ; he saves 
from sin, not in it ; he destroys the works of the devil, which 
may be all summed up in sin ; they that abide in Christ, 
bring forth fruit ; they have their fruit unto holiness, and 
the end everlasting life ; true faith worketh by love to God 
and man, which love is the fulfilling of the law ,* evangelical 
hope purifieth the heart even as God is pure. Believers are 
God's workmanship, created again in Christ Jesus, unto 
good works, which God hath before ordained that they should 



166 EXPOSITION AND DEEENSE OF THE 

walk in them. The moral law is a transcript of the image 
of God. He spared not his own Son, but would not give up 
with one jot or tittle of his law. Holiness is the beauty, 
the perfection, and happiness of the rational and intelligent 
creature ; the possession of it makes one spirit a glorious 
angel ; the want of it makes a spirit of the same powers, 
capacity, and rank, a devil. All the previous steps in the 
work of redemption terminate, ultimately, in perfect holi- 
ness ; and this is the glory and felicity of the heavenly in- 
habitants ; they are spirits of just men made perfect. Faith 
in Christ does not make void the law, but establishes, mag- 
nifies, and honors it. Shall we sin, says Paul, because grace 
does abound ? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead 
unto sin, live any longer therein ? And on this head we are 
not afraid to appeal to fact and experience : let us only look 
round and ask, whether religion, virtue, and true holiness, 
flourish most in those Churches, which have turned aside 
from free grace unto another Gospel ; or in those where the 
pure doctrines of Christ have free course and are glorified. 
To shun preaching the cross of Christ, and declaim on merely 
moral subjects, is like plucking up a few weeds in a garden, 
while the whole garden is burnt up with drought ; but to 
preach Christ crucified, is to introduce a stream of living 
water among the beds. The first is lopping off a few wild 
and more luxuriant branches from the tree of sin ; but the 
last lays the ax to the root. True virtue is a precious fruit 
which flourishes only on the cross of Christ. It is a plant 
that must be daily watered with the blood of Christ. 

The whole book of divine revelation, taken in a large 
sense, may be and is called the law of God ; and may also 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 1G7 

not improperly be called the Gospel, because one thing is the 
scope and design of all its parts : namely, to guide men back 
to God ; to conduct them to holiness, glory and immortality. 
But taken in a strict sense, the law and the Gospel are very 
different ; and it is of great use and importance to understand 
this distinction well, especially to Gospel ministers. The 
Gospel, in a strict sense, includes no commands, nor threat- 
ening^ ; it is a message of infinite love and grace to perishing 
sinners ; it is glad tidings of great joy ; the promise ; " The 
promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are 
afar off/' and this promise is that of eternal life. •• This is 
the promise which he hath promised us, even eternal life ;" 
it is the word of life, " Go speak unto the people all the 
words of this life ;" the record of God, in which he hath 
given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son ; the covenant 
of promise. "And this is the covenant that I will make with 
the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will 
put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts, 
and I will be to them a God. and they shall be to me a peo- 
ple," etc., Hebrews viii, 10. 11, 12; in which it is noticea- 
ble, there is neither precept, nor threatening, but all promise ; 
no condition is stated on the sinner's part, but God takes the 
whole work of grace, both of pardon and sanctification, into 
his own hand. 

All precepts and threatening^ belong to the law, either in 
its covenant form, or as a rule of life. The command to be- 
lieve, and threatening against unbelief; the command to 
repent, and denunciation against impenitence ; the command 
to pray, to watch, to obey the Gospel, and submit to all its 
institutions ; and the sentence of wrath against the neglect 



168 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

of these duties ; belong to the law, strictly taken. The neg- 
lect of these is sin. But sin is a transgression of the law. 
And these do not constitute a new law of grace, offering life 
to men on easier terms than the first covenant, into which 
law, some have absurdly attempted to transform the Gospel ; 
and so to lead sinners to seek eternal life by the covenant of 
works a little softened : but in these, we see the law accom- 
modated by infinite wisdom, to the sinful and ruined state 
of men, under a dispensation of grace and mercy introduced 
by the Gospel of Christ. It must be granted, that the au- 
thority of God, in the law of the ten commandments, does 
oblige the creature to every duty God can require of him, 
and that in all circumstances in which he can possibly be 
placed ; and therefore, when sinful and fallen, and under a 
revelation of mercy and dispensation of grace, he must be 
bound by the law to embrace the one, and submit to the other. 
There is therefore no contradiction between the law and 
the Gospel, but a blessed harmony between them ; and sub- 
serviency of the one to the other. The law, as a covenant 
of works, demands of the sinner a holy nature, a perfect obe- 
dience, and condemns him to suffer the punishment due to 
sin ; or demands a full satisfaction to incensed justice. These 
demands are subservient to the success of the Gospel, they 
shut the sinner up to the faith of Christ. The sinner per- 
ceives he cannot change his own nature ; cannot create a new 
heart in himself ; that it would be as practicable for him to 
create another world, another sun and system of planets ; and 
as the heart is the spring of action, he perceives that unless 
the fountain be pure the streams cannot be so ; unless the 
tree be made good, its fruit cannot be so ; and that therefore 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 169 

without the renovating grace of Jesus Christ, he cannot per- 
form one acceptable act of obedience to the law. But further, 
he is conscious, that he has already sinned in innumerable 
instances ; and that were it even possible for him to change 
his own corrupt nature, and yield perfect obedience, still 
another demand remains, that is, full satisfaction to divine 
justice for his sins already committed, by suffering the pun- 
ishment due ; and thus he discerns the absolute necessity of 
flying to Christ. There are here, only two things which con- 
stitute an alternative : either to fly to Christ, the end of the 
law for righteousness, or to sink in absolute despair. In 
this extremity, the Gospel reveals Christ, and invites the 
sinner to sit down under the covert of his blood and right- 
eousness, which he does with great delight, and finds his 
fruits sweet to his taste. And thus the G-ospel fulfills the 
covenant of works in all its demands ; it does not make void 
that covenant, but establishes it. Christ came not to de- 
stroy the law, but to fulfill it. And it is of great use, to 
preach the law, in all its demands and terrors, that it may 
be as a rigorous schoolmaster, to scourge the sinner to Christ. 
The law, viewed also as a rule of righteousness in the 
hand of the Mediator, is perfectly harmonious with the Gos- 
pel. They go hand in hand ; the one in pointing out our 
duty ; the other furnishing grace and strength for the per- 
formance of it. Does the law command us to believe ? The 
Gospel says, it is given you on the behalf of Christ to believe ; 
and he is the author and finisher of our faith. Does the law 
command us to repent *? The Gospel reveals Christ, exalted 
as a Prince and Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel. 
14 



170 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

Does the law require us to love God ? The G-ospel promises 
that the love of God shall he shed abroad in our hearts by the 
Spirit, and says the Lord, " I will circumcise your hearts to 
love the Lord thy God." Does the law command us to hear 
that we may live ? The G-ospel promises that the ears of the 
deaf shall be unstopped ; and the dead shall hear the voice 
of the Son of God. Does the law require us to pray ? God 
promises in the Gospel, to pour upon us the Spirit of grace 
and supplication. Does the law require us to wash and make 
us clean ? The Gospel promises, that God will sprinkle clean 
water upon us, and we shall be clean. Does the law com- 
mand us to make to ourselves a new heart ? God in the Gospel 
says, a new heart also will I give to you. The Gospel is alto- 
gether adapted to the sinful and lost state of men. Christ finds 
men dead in trespasses and sins ; but he, the second Adam, 
was made a quickening spirit to give them life. The Gospel, 
instead of overthrowing the law in any sense, establishes and 
fulfills it in all, and its ultimate end is to transform sinful 
creatures into the image of God, perfect them in holiness, 
or bring them to that perfection which the law requires ; and 
so advance the glory of God in their salvation. We there- 
fore testify against the following errors. That believers are 
still under the law as a covenant of works ; bound to obey 
that they may live. The apostle affirms, " That they are 
not under the law but under grace ; that the law of the spirit 
of life hath made them free from the law of sin and death ; 
and there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus." Also, the error that believers are not under the law 
in any sense, that they may live as they please, and can not 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 171 

commit any sin. The Word testifies that they are not without 
law to God but under law to Christ. We likewise testify 
against the error, that the G-ospel is a new law of grace, pro- 
posing life on easier terms than the covenant of works ; and 
that if our obedience, though imperfect, be sincere, it will be 
accepted as sufficient for the pardon of our sins, and give us 
a title to eternal life. 



172 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEE XX. 

OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY AND LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 

The divine Eecleenier came to save his people from sin. 
Sin is represented, as darkness ; as death ; as bondage. 
Salvation from it, is light, life, and liberty. Christ does 
not only save from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God, 
but also from its power and dominion. It is the deceitful - 
ness and power of sin, which form the instrument of Satan's 
dominion over the soul of man. And there is no deliverance 
from his tyranny, but by redemption from the deceitfulness 
and power of sin itself. We must therefore affirm, that lib- 
erty of conscience is not a liberty to commit sin. It is not a 
liberty, to destroy and cast off all conscience. This would be 
to make liberty the same thing with slavery ; light, darkness ; 
and death, life. Christian liberty is not, to do as we please, 
without regarding our duty to G-od and to man. But while 
we maintain, that G-od hath left our consciences free from the 
doctrines and commandments of men, which are in anything 
contrary to his Word, or beside it in matters of faith and 
worship ; we also contend, that Jehovah is the Lord and 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 173 

only Lord of conscience. That his Word is the rule of con- 
science. And his service the most perfect liberty. God 
himself enjoys infinite liberty ; but he is essentially holy. 
Angels and glorified saints are free and enjoy perfect lib- 
erty : but it consists in perfect holiness, or complete freedom 
from sin. 

The power of the Church is only ministerial and declara- 
tive. She can do nothing more, than declare and administer 
the doctrines, laws, and ordinances of Christ. A Church of 
Christ is formed by a covenant or contract to walk in these, 
and when any of her members depart from these, and so vio- 
late that covenant, they cast themselves out of communion ; 
and the Church only declares that they have done so. It 
would be absurd to plead liberty of conscience in this case, 
and insist for communion too : for such a pretended liberty 
would be licentiousness, or liberty to transgress the laws of 
Christ ; therefore from the communion of the Church such a 
person must be expelled ; the Church does not claim an in- 
fallible power of interpretation, but she must judge for her- 
self: and the doctrines, worship, and laws of Christ, are not 
so obscure, but where there is an honest mind, and sincere 
heart to receive the truth, it may be easily discovered. 

The civil authority of any Christian country, can not law- 
fully intermeddle with the internal government of the Church 
of Christ. The keys of doctrine and discipline are not com- 
mitted to civil rulers ; but to Church officers. Xevertheless, 
civil rulers ought carefully to distinguish between liberty of 
conscience, and downright licentiousness, or a rejection of all 
conscience ; and while they allow full liberty as to modes 
and forms of worship, they ought not to permit the citizens, 



174 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

totally to neglect the worship, fear, and service of God in 
every mode and form ; for this would subvert the principles 
of all order, justice, and good government ; a person who 
does not acknowledge, and worship God, who blasphemes 
and profanes his sacred name ; who allows of no stated times 
for his service, can not with any propriety be admitted as a 
witness on oath in any court ; and much less can he fill any 
place of power and trust ; yea, he can not be viewed as a 
subject of moral government. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 175 



CHAPTEE XXI. 



OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 



That God, who is infinitely glorious and supremely good, 
and whose goodness extends to all, ought to be worshiped 
and adored by all intelligent creatures, is a ray of truth as 
transparent, as that he exists. There is no sentiment more 
natural tcr the human mind, than religion in some form or 
other. Hence all nations in all ages of the world have 
practiced some rites or modes of worship ; and reason readily 
gives its assent, that sincerity and purity of heart constitute 
the essence of this worship. But in our fallen state, the un- 
derstanding being clouded, and the heart depraved, there is 
nothing more unnatural than true religion and pure spiritual 
worship. There was, therefore, great necessity, for God to 
reveal and prescribe what worship would be acceptable to 
him. This he has done in his Word, to which we should be 
carefully obedient ; and observe all his institutions in their 
purity. All images of God and of Christ, either as objects 
of adoration, or as a medium through which our adoration 
is directed to the Supreme Being, are repugnant to reason as 
well as Scripture. 



176 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

The undivided trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is 
the object of our worship. To this one God, subsisting in 
three distinct persons, we must address prayer, confession, 
and thanksgiving ; in secret, private, and public. And it is 
only in the mediation of Jesus Christ, that we can be accepted. 
No man cometh to the Father but by him ; and whatsoever 
we shall ask of the Father in his name, he will do it ; and for 
our encouragement farther, Christ is our advocate within the 
vail ; and the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of supplication, is pro- 
mised to help our infirmities. All these great and. mighty 
privileges are expressed in a most concise manner by the apos- 
tle in these words: " Through him we have an access, by one 
spirit, unto the Father." What a source of comfort ! We 
have the almighty, all-wise, and all-merciful God to go to as 
our Father and Friend. The Son of God as our Mediator 
and Advocate. The Holy Spirit to assist us in our approaches. 
God deigns to take particular notice of prayer, and put pecu- 
liar honor on it. He says of Saul, " Behold he prayeth ! 
Call on me in the clay of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and 
thou shalt glorify my name. Seek and ye shall find, ask and 
ye shall receive," etc. And he never bid any of the seed of 
Jacob seek his face in vain. And it is impossible to tell, how 
much comfort is contained in that divine direction : " Be 
careful for nothing ; but in everything by prayer, and sup- 
plication, with thanksgiving make your requests known to 
God." Our worship under the Gospel, is not confined to any 
place, or sanctified by it. But God requires us to worship 
Him in all places, in spirit and in truth. 

Social or public worship is clearly founded on the law of 
nature, and expressly enjoined by revelation ; and it is one 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 177 

of the principal ways in which Christians express their com- 
munion with each other. If God ought to be worshiped, 
some time must be allotted for that worship. If worshiped 
by society in a social capacity, a suitable portion of time, 
must be consecrated to that purpose. Thus a day of sacred 
rest, or what is called in Scripture a Sabbath, is a most 
rational institution. The civilized heathens all observed 
something like it ; and indeed devoted much more of their 
time to religious worship, such as it was, than God requires 
in his Word. The seventh part is appropriated by God to 
this purpose, and is a most rational and easy precept. The 
institution of the Sabbath is no ceremonial rite ; for it was 
appointed long before the giving of the ceremonial law ; it 
was ordained from the creation of the world. Six days God 
labored, and rested on the seventh ; and therefore, says he, 
six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work ; but the 
seventh is a holy Sabbath unto the Lord. This is the first 
number in divine numeration, and hence we see this number 
very often singled out with honor in the Xew Testament. 
There were seven churches ; seven angels of the churches ; 
seven trumpets ; seven vials, etc. And as God's division 
of time by this number, is recorded in the first book of 
Scripture, so this division is stamped with divine authority 
and honor, in the last ; which is no obscure hint, that the 
institution of the Sabbath is perpetuated under the Xew 
Testament. 

Christians indeed believe, that at the resurrection of 
Christ, the day was changed from the last to the first day of 
the week. This was probably one of the directions given by 

Christ to his disciples, during his continuance with them 
15 



178 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

forty days after his resurrection ; for it is said, that he was 
employed then in speaking to them of the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of Grod. It was foretold in prophecy, that 
this change should take place. — Ezek, xliii, 27. Christ 
claims lordship or dominion over the Sabbath — " The Son 
of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath day." Surely not to 
annul or repeal it (he came not to destroy the law and the 
prophets) but to change it. " Behold," says he, " I make 
all things new." He set aside the Levitical worship, to 
which the seventh -day Sabbath was annexed, and introduced 
a new system of worship and ordinances ; a new priesthood, 
a new temple, a new altar, a new commandment ; to wit, love, 
a new ministry, new sacraments, and therefore very properly 
a new Sabbath. It is certain that the apostles, after Christ's 
resurrection, sanctified, or kept holy, the first day of the 
week, and called it emphatically the Lord's day ; because on 
that day he arose from the dead, and by this, gave the 
fullest demonstration, that the work of redemption was 
finished in respect of impetration ; which event was like 
the creation of a new world, or a new state of things in the 
world ; and accordingly the New Testament Church is called 
the world to come ; " Lor unto the angels hath he not put 
in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak ? " says 
the apostle. — Heb. ii, 5. As the seventh day was instituted 
to be a memorial of G-od's creating the first world, so the 
first day is justly said, by our divines, to have been insti- 
tuted as a memorial of Christ's laying the foundation of 
this new world. Jesus, oh the day of his resurrection, 
entered into his eternal rest, never to suffer any more for the 
redemption of his people, and instituted the first-day, Sab- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 179 

bath, to be a sign or token of his ceasing from his works, 
as God did from his — Heb. iv, 1 ; and also as a sweet 
rest to his Church in conjunction with him. And were there 
not a change of the day, we should want one of the principal 
monuments of the truth of the Xew Testament writings ; 
because the seventh-day Sabbath applies only to the Old 
Testament, and the Church would have no memorial of the 
Eedeemer's resurrection at all. 

But it is necessary to remark, that the change of the day 
makes no alteration or change in the moral part of the fourth 
commandment. It is still a seventh part of time, that is set 
apart to the service of God. And it is worthy of observa- 
tion, that the fourth commandment is couched in such terms 
as seem to have left it open to a change in this circumstance ; 
it is not said, " Eemember the seventh day to keep it holy, 
but remember the Sabbath day." And whereas it follows, 
" six days shalt thou labor," etc., " but the seventh day is 
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; " this still holds true 
under the Christian dispensation ; for, six days Christians 
labor, and rest the seventh part of time. The sanctification 
of the Sabbath is of essential service to the Church ; and 
indeed of great use to civil society. It stands in or near 
the center of the law, and sheds back the most benign in- 
fluence on all our duty to God, while it is the best prepara- 
tive for faithfully discharging all the duties which we owe 
to men. Wise rulers, therefore, who wish rather to prevent 
crimes, than to punish them, will take great care both by 
precept and example, to promote the sanctification of the 
Sabbath. Men must be ignorant and stupid indeed, who 
will plead, that conscience obliges them to profane the Lord's 



180 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

day. With equal reason they might plead conscience for 
theft, murder, etc., which would he to plead conscience for 
throwing aside all conscience. The knowledge and fear of God 
will be the most powerful restraint from crimes of every sort. 
We therefore solemnly bear witness against such, as do 
not worship God at all ; we can not help viewing them as 
practical Atheists, and extremely dangerous to civil society. 
And against all profaners and blasphemers of the name of 
God, whether by direct perjury, or in common conversation ; 
against all who worship any other beside God ; whether angels 
or saints, directly or indirectly. Against all who worship God 
by the mediation of any other but Jesus Christ, the only Medi- 
ator between God and men. Against all who corrupt the ordi- 
nances of Christ, by adding to them, or diminishing them ; and 
all who neglect to worship God in secret, in a family capacity, 
or in his public ordinances. And against all who profane 
the holy Sabbath, whether by idleness, visiting, frolicking, 
journeying, remaining at home, when they should publicly 
honor God in his institutions, or by unnecessary thoughts, 
words, or works, about their worldly employments and recre- 
ations. And as the observation of holidays, as they are 
called, has done, and continues to do hurt in the Church of 
God, we bear witness against it. They are generally days 
of dissipation — the blessing of God is not on the observation 
of them. And it is remarkable, that in those churches 
where they are observed, much inattention to the Lord's day, 
or rather profanation of it prevails. Whenever we introduce 
human inventions into divine service, we are apt to lose a zeal 
for divine institutions, and become enamored with our own 
vanities. God must be worshiped in a diligent attendance on 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 181 

all his ordinances, and a sincere observance of them. The 
ordinary acts of the worship of God are, prayer, confession, 
and praise. " Praise waits for thee, God, in Zion," says 
the Psalmist, " nnto thee shall the vow be performed. 
thou that art the hearer of prayer, all flesh shall come to 
thee. Iniquities, I must confess, do prevail against me ; but 
as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." — 
Psalm lxv. And we are not afraid to assert, and vindicate 
the propriety of using the psalms and songs of the Old Testa- 
ment in the praises of God. In these days of prevailing infi- 
delity and atheism, while many with ignorant boldness and 
absurd effrontery deny the inspiration of the Scriptures alto- 
gether, and earnestly attempt to carry us back into their 
beloved regions of heathen darkness ; others, who have only 
a form of godliness without the power, have become very cool 
and indifferent about the Word of God, either in whole or 
in part. And hence arises a great temptation to true Christ- 
ians, which, if not resisted, may diminish their zeal, love, 
and esteem for the Word of God. The churches of Christ 
in different ages and places, had, and still have peculiar 
temptations, from which great, and often unseen dangers 
threaten them. The present prevalence of deistical opinions, 
of Socinian, Arian, and Arminian errors, is a severe trial of 
the faith and patience of the saints. But blessed is he that 
keepeth his garments clean. 

We are extremely sorry to have observed a growing dis- 
relish in some Churches, for the psalms of David and other 
songs of Scripture. We could wish for a more finished 
poetical version of these, than any yet given to the Churches. 
And we do not mean to say, that hymns of human com- 



182 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

position may not be lawfully used in any case whatso- 
ever.* 

But we think it is safest, generally to adhere to the Scrip- 
tural psalmody ; and it is remarkable, that the most erro- 
neous and deluded sectaries are fondest of uninspired hymns, 
which, doubtless they will take care to have composed, each 
party on its own peculiar scheme of principles. It is dan- 
gerous for the Church, in any important parts of her worship, 
to drop rule and order ; and leave her members to follow 
each his own inclination. It has much grieved the hearts 
of tender Christians, to hear the psalms of David represent- 
ed as in some instances, inconsistent with a Gospel spirit, and 

* "And we do not mean to say, that hymns of human composition, 
may not be lawfully used in any case whatsoever/ 7 

Candor forbids that any construction should be put on this sen- 
tence, which would place it in conflict with the earnest protest 
which the writer enters against the use of " uninspired hymns," in 
the room of, or in preference to, the " inspired songs. " The well- 
known views of Mr. Annan, as expressed in a letter to Rev, A. 
Rankin, of Lexington, Kentucky, and on other occasions, also forbid. 
We can state from memory how the language was understood and 
explained by some who had the best opportunity of knowing how 
the writer explained it, and wished it to be understood. You may 
read a pious poem in a devotional manner to edification, without 
treating the Word of God with neglect, provided you do not substi- 
tute it for the reading of the Scriptures, in the services of the sanc- 
tuary or in the ordinary stated worship of God in the family. 
Under the same restrictions, you may add the charms of music, and 
sing it, without displacing the inspired psalmody. But while the 
writer would forbear to say, that this may never be "lawfully" done, 
he still thinks it good to administer a caution against it, as not 
entirely safe. D. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 183 

unfit for the New Testament dispensation ; and such lan- 
guage, we fear, has greatly aided the cause of infidelity. It 
was wrong-headed wisdom to push forward the foaming 
torrent. 

Christ came not to destroy the books of the prophets ; 
among which prophets, David, Asaph and Ethan were emi- 
nent. If he had seen the psalmody of the Jewish Church 
unfit for the Gospel dispensation, it would have been easy 
with him, to have given his Church a new system : but we 
have no hint of this ; nay, it is evident, that he and his 
apostles used the scriptural Psalms in the praises of God ; 
and every one must allow, that the book of Psalms is re- 
markable for its New Testament style. It comes nearer to 
the simple evangelical spirit, and style of the New Testa- 
ment, than most of the Old Testament books. The graces 
and experiences of God's children in all ages, are there most 
beautifully delineated ; sometimes indeed typical language 
is introduced, as when it is said ; " I will go to God's altar. 
He smote the rock and the waters gushed out, He rained 
down manna on them and gave them corn of heaven to 
eat." But the Eedeemer never appears to us more in his 
glory, than when shadowed forth by these types, with the 
light of the New Testament shining on them. In this case, 
we have both the type and the antitype placed in our view, 
reflecting and augmenting the light of each other. This is 
a double light ; and in this instance that word is fulfilled, 
" The light of the moon, or of the type, is like the light of 
the sun : and the light of the sun, that is, of the antitype, 
is like the light of seven days." 

If it be objected, that there are, in the Psalms, terrible pre- 



184 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 

dictions of God's judgments, on the enemies of his kingdom; 
it may be answered, so there are through all the New Testa- 
ment. How often does Christ, the meek Lamb of God, pro- 
nounce terrible woes against his opposers? Paul says, "If 
we, or an angel from heaven, preach unto you any other Gos- 
pel, than that which we have preached, let him be accursed ! 
If any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be an Anathema 
maranatha." In fine, as in the providence of God, mercy 
and judgment are blended ; so in his Word, mercy and jus- 
tice, terror and consolation, majesty and meekness combine 
everywhere their rays. And is not this infinitely suitable 
to the constitution of human nature ? There are two pow- 
erful springs of action in the human mind, hope and fear ; 
Noah, being moved with fear and hope too, prepared an ark 
to the saving of his house. Moses, moved by fear and faith, 
kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that 
destroyed the first-born should touch them. God, therefore, 
adapts his Word to our rational nature. He addresses our 
hopes and fears ; and they must be very ignorant of human 
nature, who suppose it can be moved or actuated in any other 
way. It is absurd to suppose, that anything of the Psalm- 
ist's personal resentment breathes in these predictions and 
threatenings. The very threatenings of God's Word, viewed 
in their connection with the Gospel, are evidences of his love. 
" As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, says Christ; be 
therefore zealous and repent." They are intended for our 
warning, and are subservient to the success of the Gospel. 

One evil seldom comes alone ; it is commonly followed by 
a gloomy train ; as we fear, many have injured the matter 
of the Church's praise, by forsaking the fountain of living 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 185 

waters, and hewing out broken cisterns ; so we are well con- 
vinced, that the manner of performing this solemn act of 
religious worship, is in some Churches greatly corrupted. 
What unprejudiced mind is not grieved, to see the solemn 
work of praising God, committed to a few light-headed boys 
and girls, about whose carriage, there is often little or no 
semblance of piety or seriousness, while the whole congrega- 
tion, or nearly the whole, sit dumb ? Who is not offended to 
see the worship of God turned into a mere piece of human 
art and carnal amusement, the singing of his praise per- 
formed with idle theatrical parade ? It is certain, that this 
new mode has as effectually, perhaps more effectually, ex- 
pelled the praises of God from the lips of far the greatest 
number in some Churches, than an act of Parliament for the 
purpose could have done. And it has produced the same 
effect in many families. It has expelled his praise from the 
dwellings even of the righteous. They say, they can not sing ; 
that is, they can not sing in the fashionable mode, and there- 
fore do not attempt it at all. And along with this the read- 
ing of the Scriptures, in family worship, is, in many families 
laid aside. We wish not to be rigorous or uncandid ; but 
when we see Christians deceived through the subtleties and 
devices of Satan, turned aside from their duty, and cheated 
out of their privileges, why should we be silent ? The use 
of the organ, and other instruments of music in the Jewish 
Church, was agreeable enough to a worldly sanctuary, and 
the pomp of ceremonial worship ; but does not accord so well 
with the spiritual nature of the Xew Testament : yet we must 
grant, that in those Churches where it is retained, it does 
not work more, if as much, mischief, as the mode of which 



186 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

we speak : the organ leads the music, the people follow : but 
in a general way, where the new mode is practiced, the people 
are silent, and commit the whole service to a few delegates. 
Is not this to serve the Lord by proxy ? And if men could 
be judged too, at the bar of G-od, by proxy, something might 
be said. Our sinful nature is very dexterous in inventing 
apologies for what is wrong. Many justify this evil by say- 
ing, in time the whole congregation will acquire the new 
mode, and consequently all join in the worship. Under this 
pretext, it has been introduced into several Churches in Xew 
England. But experience contradicts this ; for in those 
Churches where it has been longest practiced, the evil seems 
rather to increase than decrease ; the habit becomes more 
confirmed, and it is generally taken for granted, that the 
people have no business with the duty, that it belongs 
entirely and only to the chorister and his train. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 187 



CHAPTER XXII. 

This chapter treats of lawful oaths and vows. On the 
subject of oaths, we deem it unnecessary to add any remarks 
on what is advanced in the Confession, only that the approved 
Scriptural mode of swearing, is by the name of Grod, with the 
sign of the uplifted hand. The doctrine of vows, leads us to 
define our views of public and explicit covenanting with 
God. Jehovah, in his infinite condescension and grace, has 
all along humbled himself to transact with his creature man, 
by entering into covenant with him. Thus with innocent 
man he made the covenant of works ; and after the apostasy, 
he revealed to sinful and rebellious men the covenant of 
grace, or that gracious contract with his own Son, whom he 
had appointed the second Adam, for the purpose of redeem- 
ing lost men. " I have given him," says he, " for a covenant 
to the people." This is the covenant on which the salvation 
of the Church is built. The design of this covenant is not 
the preservation of the loyalty or allegiance of innocent man ; 
but the recovery of guilty, ruined and lost men ; hence it is 
called the sure mercies of David. Therefore some of its in- 
stitutions, are intended for the conversion of sinners ; others 



188 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

for the confirmation and increase of grace in true believers. 
But it is clear, there is not one Gospel institution, not one 
ordinance of the Xew Testament, not one promise, precept 
nor duty, but is an appendage of this covenant. The de- 
sign of all is either to instate us in it, or perpetuate our 
interest. God in this covenant reveals and offers himself to 
the sinner, as his reconciled God in Christ. G-od the Father 
engages to be to him a Father ; G-od the Son, to be his Ee- 
deemer ; and God the Holy Ghost, his Sanctifier. The sinful 
creature perceiving the boundless grace and love of God in 
this offer, by the influence of the Spirit, accepts the gracious 
tender ; and in the strength of grace promised on God's part, 
he surrenders himself to God the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. Avouches the Lord to be his God, and engages, not 
in his own strength (for without me, says Christ, ye can do 
nothing) , but in the strength of promised grace, that he will 
walk in his ways and keep his commandments. This is the 
evangelical idea of covenanting with God. It is just an ac- 
ceptance by faith of the covenant of grace in all its parts, 
promises, precepts, and ordinances ; and a voluntary surren- 
der of ourselves to him. And even this acceptance and sur- 
render is of grace. "By grace ye are saved, through faith, 
and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God." Thus the 
duty of covenanting with God, is performed in every act of 
faith and repentance, in meditation, prayer, and reception 
of the sacraments ; and indeed it is the life of every duty. 

But it has, through common use, been appropriated to the 
act of vowing unto the Lord of Hosts. However, this differs 
from the former only in being more external, explicit and 
formal ; for in every act of faith there is a solemn and hearty 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 189 

acceptance of God to be our God, and surrender of ourselves 
to be his, on the scheme of the Gospel. And in the partici- 
pation of the sacraments of baptism and the holy Supper, 
this act is very explicit, public, and formal. In these insti- 
tutions, Christians express their union to Christ, and to each 
other in him. Nevertheless, on some particular occasions, 
they may also practice this, by solemn conjunct vowing to 
the Lord. It is clear from reason, scripture-precepts, prom- 
ises and prophecies, that this is sometimes the duty of the 
Church in New Testament times. 

The peculiar seasons, when God calls for the performance 
of this duty, seem to be ; when the Church is in imminent 
danger from a general apostasy or persecution ; when under 
some heavy judgment ; when about to implore some great 
deliverance ; or when the deliverance hath been granted, and 
his divine Spirit poured out. And there is in fact no more 
in it, than what the Church had formerly transacted, or than 
what every believer must in every act of faith transact, only 
that it is done in the form of a public, social and explicit 
vow. 

It is further necessary to observe, that even this solemn 
transaction does not preclude freedom of inquiry. Nor 
should it prevent progress in reformation ; so far from that, 
it is intended to excite us to go forward in the good way of 
the Lord ; and wherein we see, we have formerly erred, by 
no means to hold fast the error : but to drop it, and proceed 
in reformation. And it is supposed, that the Church in 
general, and every believer in particular, proceed in this duty, 
not as if they were infallible, but according to the measure 
of light and knowledge which God hath given them, How- 



190 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

ever, from this it follows, that the matter of our vows should 
be simple, plain, and scriptural. Great would be the dan- 
ger, were we in such a solemn transaction, to entangle the 
conscience among doubtful and obscure points. 

It is clear that covenanting with God and each other in 
the manner above defined, being an ordinance of the cove- 
nant of grace, it must belong only to the Church. It is an 
ecclesiastical, not a civil ordinance ; and must be practiced 
by men, not in their civil, but ecclesiastical capacity. Yet 
as the Christian religion recognizes every lawful relation 
among men, whether natural or civil, a Church consisting of 
fathers and children, magistrates and subjects, rulers and 
common citizens, and thus covenanting with God and each 
other ; ought to view their covenant as solemnly binding 
them to the faithful performance of the duties which they 
owe to each other in these relations. And thus the grace of 
the Gospel opened in the Church, should flow like a river of 
life in ten thousand channels through civil society. It should 
circulate through all the relations of it, like the blood in the 
arteries and veins of the human body. A believing husband 
is bound by the law of Christ, to act as a Christian toward 
his wife, even if she were a heathen ; a Christian parent is 
obliged, by the same authority, to perform the duties of a 
Christian toward his children, and all the members of his 
family ; and by a parity of reason, magistrates are obliged 
by the laws of Christianity, to conduct as Christians, in the 
execution of their office, toward the subjects or citizens. 
And were it so in fact, most certainly the most blessed con- 
sequences would follow. 

Christians in this transaction, not only give themselves to 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 191 

the Lord : but, as in baptism and the Lord's supper, so in 
this, they give themselves and their children to him. We 
then, as the children of covenanting ancestors, do acknow- 
ledge ourselves as dedicated to the Lord by their act, and 
engaged by them, to obey and serve him in every religious 
and moral duty ; in which, as they acted agreeably to the 
will of God, and by his authority, the obligation to duty 
rests ultimately on the divine authority ; while their vow 
may be considered as a stimulus or motive exciting to it. 
Furthermore, we choose to disengage this solemn duty from 
all local connections, and questions ; and take it up on its 
first principles, its original and true ground, the authority 
of God in his Word warranting and enjoining it. For as 
our ancestors had the authority of God warranting them to 
set about it ; we have the very same authority for our war- 
rant. This, we apprehend, will be infinitely better, than to 
entangle the consciences of God's people with a multitude 
of questions about former covenants in another Church or 
nation. And accordingly we have drawn up, and present to 
the solemn consideration of the Lord's people connected with 
us, the following plain, scriptural form of a covenant. 

We all and every one of us, convinced in some measure, 
we hope, by the Word and Spirit of God ; that we are by 
nature children of disobedience and of wrath even as others ; 
that we inherit from the transgression of our first parents a 
depraved, sinful and corrupt nature ; that our hearts are 
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked ; that the 
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint ; that there is 
no soundness in any part, but from the crown of the head to 
the sole of the foot we are full of wounds, bruises and 



192 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

putrefying sores. Convinced, that by reason of this sinful- 
ness of our nature, from which have proceeded innumerable 
actual transgressions of the law of God, both in the way of 
omission and commission in thought, word and deed ; we 
have lost his image, his favor, and communion with him ; are 
most justly under his wrath and curse, and liable to all the 
miseries of this life and that which is to come. Conscious that 
this is our sinful and miserable state by nature : but hear- 
ing from the Word of Cod, " That Cod so loved the world, as 
to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish ; but have everlasting life. That in 
the fullness of time, Cod sent forth his Son, made of a woman, 
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, 
that we might receive the adoption of sons. That the blood 
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin ; and that 
he is able to save to the uttermost, all that come to God by 
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." 
Though sensible of the deceitfulness of our own hearts, and 
however frequently perplexed with doubts about our actual 
believing ; yet desiring to essay in the strength of promised 
grace, and in obedience to the Lord's commandment, to glo- 
rify Cod by believing his Word of grace contained in his 
covenant of promise, and in the faith of his promise to 
devote ourselves unto the Lord in a covenant of duty. We 
do with our hands lifted up to the most high Cod, hereby 
profess, and before Cod, angels and men, solemnly declare, 
that through the grace of God, we desire with our whole 
hearts to take hold of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Eedeemer 
and Saviour, as our prophet, priest and king ; as the only 
propitiation for our sins through faith in his blood; his 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 193 

3 ighteousness as the only foundation of our access to, and 
acceptance with God ; his covenant of free and rich promises 
as our only title to the heavenly inheritance ; his Word for 
our perfect and only rule of faith and practice ; his Spirit 
for our guide to lead us into all truth revealed in his holy 
"Word ; and his God and Father to be our God and Father, 
reconciled to us and well pleased with us in him. 

We avouch the Lord to be our God, and in the strength 
of the grace laid up for us in Christ, we solemnly promise 
and vow, by the great name of the Lord our God, that we 
will endeavor to walk in his ways and keep his command- 
ments and hearken to his voice : and particularly that we 
will by the Lord's grace, continue and abide in the profes- 
sion of the faith, and obedience of the Gospel of Christ, in 
doctrine, worship, discipline and government. And that we 
will according to our stations, places and callings, and the 
measure of knowledge given unto us, contend and testify 
against all contrary evils, errors and corruptions. That we 
will study to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of 
peace ; do good to all men, but especially to the household 
of faith ; follow peace with all men and holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord ; deny ourselves, take up 
our cross and follow Jesus ; freely forgive our enemies, and 
pray for them ; walk in the truth, and in love to one an- 
other for the truth's sake, maintaining that fervent charity 
among ourselves which will cover a multitude of sins, and 
thus encourage and strengthen each other's hands in the 
good way and work of the Lord : that we will endeavor a 
life and conversation becoming the Gospel of Christ, study- 
ing to be good examples to one another, especially in our 
16 



194 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

families, of godliness and righteousness, or of every duty 
which we owe to God or man. That we will not give up 
ourselves to a detestable neutrality or indifferency in the 
cause of God: but will, above all things, through divine 
grace, seek the glory of God, the prosperity of his Church, 
and good of mankind. And forsaking the counsels of flesh 
and blood, and not leaning to our own understandings, nor 
any carnal confidence, but trusting only in the Lord, will 
thus study to promote true reformation in ourselves and 
others, according to the Word of God. 

In all which, with the deepest sincerity, professing and 
acknowledging our own utter insufficiency and weakness ; 
we earnestly implore the Father of mercies and God of all 
comfort, through his Son Jesus Christ, our dear Eedeemer, to 
be merciful to us, and enable us, by his Spirit, that we may 
faithfully and sincerely, though imperfectly, do our duty, 
unto the praise of his rich, free grace in all the Churches. 
Amen. 

? This chapter, which closes with the form of a Covenant, offered 
for the consideration of God's people, affords proof that what some 
call " the duty of covenanting," was well considered by the founders 
of the Associate Reformed Church ; and that they neither rashly 
nor inconsiderately came to the final conclusion, to insert nothing 
on the subject, in the standards of the Church, beyond what is con- 
tained in the Confession of Faith. There are some things in the 
chapter to which we cannot give an unqualified assent ; but they are 
not of such a nature as to require specification. What we would 
particularly remark is, that the writer, where he has our hearty 
concurrence, affirms, " There is in fact no more in it," (that is, in 
''vowing to the Lord," to which, " through common use, the name (of 
covenanting) has been appropriated") " than what the Church has 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 195 

formerly transacted, or that what every believer must in every act 
of faith transact, only that it is done in the form of a public, social, 
explicit vow." We may, therefore, object to the "form" as not ex- 
pedient or not required — we may refuse to bind on the shoulders of 
Christians a "form," to which the name of Covenanting has been 
appropriated in the language of some, and yet perform, as all Chris- 
tians do perform, the duty of covenanting with God, in all those or- 
dinances, which are of positive divine appointment. 

The covenants of our ancestors in the British isles, from the 
first compact entered into by " the Lords of the Congregation " in 
Scotland, to stand by one another in defense of the Reformation, 
down to the Solemn League and Covenant, were measures of safety 
adopted on great emergencies, when, from the state of parties, or 
other causes, the necessary and desired reformation, or, we may say, 
revolution, both in Church and state, could not be effected by ordi- 
nary means ; that is, by the regular and healthful operation of the 
civil and ecclesiastical constitution. To say that, if really neces- 
sary and expedient, those covenants were lawful, and that our an- 
cestors were warranted to enter into them, may be true enough ; 
but it simply asserts what no man of sane mind in a free country 
will now deny, that a people are warranted to fall back on the right 
of revolution, when it becomes really necessary. To say the least, it 
would be a work of supererogation to insure a clause in vindication 
of this right, in the constitution of a Church or nation. 

The question about covenanting has outlived its day. Perhaps no 
other question has made so much noise, and meant so little. There 
may, however, yet come "perilous times" which will revive it in 
some " form." But the form which it may take from circumstances 
may be so different from the pattern which was shown, in what 
men call the "purest times of the Reformation," that testimonies 
and traditions, may serve only to put their adherents in the 
wrong. 

In reference to the clamor which was kept up about the British 
covenants, and the "binding obligation of the covenants," Mr. Annan, 
in the Ruling Elder, thus expresses himself: "In thinking on this 



196 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

subject, I have frequently called to mind the story of the brazen 
serpent, in the days of Hezekiah ; it seems then the children of 
Israel offered incense to it. It had been a type of Christ, and ex- 
ceedingly useful in its time. But the good king saw it necessary to 
break it in pieces. Why ? because it was become an object of super- 
stitious veneration ; the children of Israel offered incense to it. It 
is likely that their fathers did not esteem it so much, when it was 
really of great use and service." 

Yet, Mr. Annan would have been far from wishing to destroy the 
solemn league and covenant, as he afterward says. Nor would we. 
Nor does the same reason for it now exist. Little of this " super- 
stitious veneration" for it, is now felt. For the most part, it exists 
only in words, the meaning of which few inquire. Of a true and en- 
lightened veneration for it, there is necessarily but little; for in 
order to form an enlightened opinion of the men who framed the 
covenant, of their object, and of the wisdom and propriety of the 
means by which they sought to accomplish their object ; a man's 
means of information must extend far beyond the testimonies of the 
Church, and a few one-sided histories. D. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 197 



CHAPTEB XXIII. 

This chapter treats of the civil magistrate. With regard 
to the authority granted him in civil matters, there is no 
debate in the Churches : but the power allowed to him, in 
the Confession, about the Church, has been, and is a fertile 
source of disputation. On that subject the following prin- 
ciples are exhibited. First, Though civil government de- 
rives its form from human policy, and on that account may 
be called an ordinance of man, it is a divine institution, in 
respect of its general principles. It is the will of God, that 
men live in society, and be subject in all lawful things to 
the authority of the society of which they are members. 
Secondly, All Christians, therefore, are under social obliga- 
tions, as well as other people, and should be exemplary in 
their obedience to civil superiors, Eom. xiii, 1, 8 ; Tit. iii, 1 ; 
1 Pet. ii, 13, 15. Thirdly, The authority of magistrates in 
matters of religion, under the Gospel dispensation, cannot be 
particularly ascertained by the examples of the interference 
of Jewish magistrates in such matters ; because the system 
of policy which God gave to the Jews, in a complex view, 
was peculiar to them. Fourthly, These examples, however, 



198 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

deserve the serious attention of Christians, "because they 
imply this general principle. That as Jewish rulers exer- 
cised their authority about religion in a manner that was 
adapted to the dispensation under which they were placed, 
so Christian rulers should exercise their authority in a man- 
ner that is adapted to the Gospel dispensation. Fifthly, 
As the Gospel revelation lays indispensable obligations upon 
all classes of people who are favored with it, magistrates, as 
such, are bound to execute their respective offices in a sub- 
serviency thereto, administering government on Christian 
principles, and ruling in the fear of God. according to the 
directions of his Word ; as those who shall give an account 
to the Lord Jesus, whom God hath appointed to be the Judge 
of the world, Isa. xlix, 7, 23 ; Eev. xxi, 24. Sixthly, Hence 
magistrates, as such, in a Christian country, are bound to 
promote the Christian religion, as the most valuable interest 
of their subjects, by all such means as are not inconsistent 
with civil rights ; and do not imply an interference with the 
policy of the Church, which is the free and independent king- 
dom of the Redeemer; nor an assumption of dominion over con- 
science. Seventhly, In Protestant countries the government 
should be vested in Protestants. And in those countries where 
the Protestant religion is generally professed in its purest 
form ; the government should be vested in those who profess it 
in that form. This would be a strong political security of the 
confidence that should exist between rulers and their subjects. 
When the most orthodox Protestants are in the minority in 
a nation, they should meekly submit to the government es- 
tablished by the majority ; praying and patiently waiting 
for a more reformed state of policy. Eighthly, No errors 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 199 

or heresies are punishable by magistrates ; but such as tend 
to subvert the peace of civil society, and do not suffer good 
people to live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and 
honesty. Others must be left to the censures of the Church, 
and the judgment of God. Ninthly, It is the will of God 
that magistrates punish vices which have a visible tenden- 
cy to efface impressions of piety, to injure civil rights, or to 
destroy the property and health of their subjects, such as 
profane cursing and swearing, adultery, drunkenness, gaming, 
etc.; such vices cannot be supported by conscientious pre- 
tenses. They weaken the bonds of society, and injure the 
feelings of virtuous subjects who have the highest title to 
the protection of government. Eom. xiii. 3, 4. Tenthly, 
When a government, as in America, is established by a 
combination of different denominations of Christians, who 
are so intermixed, as that separate governments would be 
impracticable, and were they practicable, would be opposed 
to each other and destructive to the interests of society; the 
civil authorities can not interfere in the peculiarities of any 
of these denominations, because the combination implies a 
compact, which secures to them their respective peculiarities. 
In this case the power of civil government, with respect to 
matters of religion, is necessarily confined to the promotion 
of such matters as are objects of general agreement, and to 
the suppression of vices, which in their obvious tendency, 
are political injuries to all these denominations. Eleventh- 
ly, As the welfare of civil society has a necessary depend- 
ence upon religious sentiments, some portion of time should 
be uniformly observed in every country for devotional purposes, 
that a sense of the existence and perfections of the Supreme 



200 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

Being, by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, may 
be more effectually preserved among the people ; and as the 
Word of God, the great law of Christians, with consummate 
wisdom, has appropriated for these purposes the seventh 
part of our time, called the Lord's day ; those who adminis- 
ter government should enforce the observation of that day. 
This enforcement may be considered as a hardship by some 
individuals, who have a peculiar opinion with respect to the 
day that should be called the Lord's day ; but when the 
general sentiment of the subjects is in favor of the day that 
is commonly observed by Christians, the interests of society 
require the observation of that day. and that those who are 
of another opinion, be compelled so to behave as to give no 
disturbance to the great majority who profess to believe it 
should be religiously observed. Twelfthly, In conformity to 
these principles, the substance of the doctrine of the Confes- 
sion of Faith may be expressed in the following terms. 

Chap, xx, sec. 4-. " And because the powers which God 
hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, 
are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold 
one another, they who upon pretense of Christian liberty, 
shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, 
whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of 
God ; and for their publishing such opinions or maintaining 
such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or the 
known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith, 
worship, conversation, or the order which Christ hath esta- 
blished in his Church, they may be lawfully called to an 
account, and proceeded against not only by the censures of 
the Church, but. in proportion as their erroneous opinions or 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 201 

practices, cither in their own nature, or in the manner of 
publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the ex- 
ternal peace of the Church, and of civil society, they may 
be also proceeded against by the power of the civil magis- 
trate/' 

Chap, xxiii, 3. " The civil magistrate may not assume 
to himself the administration of the Word and sacraments or 
the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; yet it is 
his duty, by all gentle methods, to use the influence of his 
exalted station, that unity and peace be preserved in the 
Church, that the truth of Grod be kept pure and entire, that 
all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline be pre- 
vented or reformed, and that all the ordinances of G-od be 
duly settled, administered, and observed ; and he hath 
authority to suppress all blasphemies, and such heresies as 
are destructive to the external peace of society ; for the 
better effecting whereof, it may be prudent for him, as the 
nursing father of the Church, to desire the calling of synods, 
on critical occasions, to be present at them, and to provide, 
as far as the nature of his office, and the distinction between 
the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world per- 
mit, that whatsoever is transacted in them, be according to 
the mind of Grod." 

Chap. xxxi. " For the better government, and farther 

edification of the Church, there ought to be such assemblies 

as are commonly called Synods or Councils. The ministers of 

Christ, of themselves, and by virtue of their office, or they 

with other fit persons, upon delegation from their Churches, 

have the exclusive right to appoint, adjourn, or dissolve such 

synods, or councils ; though in extraordinary cases, it may 
17 



202 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

be proper for magistrates to desire the calling of a synod of 
ministers and other fit persons, to consult and advise with 
about matters of religion ; and in such cases it is the duty 
of Churches to comply with their desire." ° 

° When this Overture was in the press, and pretty well advanced, 
a reverend brother, a member of the committee, sent up his views of 
the civil magistrate's power, circa Sacra, which are given above. 
The paragraphs in the Confession, which treat of that subject, are 
transcribed with little variation (a few words being transposed). 
And if his first principles be just, as they certainly appear to be, 
the doctrine established on them can not be controverted. It may 
be added, that perhaps it is safest for civil communities and their 
rulers, to discourage ir religion, etc., more by negative than positive 
penalties ; that is, by withholding offices, refusing testimony on 
oath, etc. R. A. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 203 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

The twenty-fourth chapter treats of Marriage and Divorce. 
Marriage is a holy institution, appointed by God while man 
was in a state of innocence > Its design is the comfort and 
mutual help of mankind, their increase with a legitimate 
issue, and the supply of the Church with a succession of a 
holy seed. It is honorable in all, and they who despise the 
divine ordinance, and live in the lusts of the flesh, must feel 
God's displeasure, and endure his terrible judgments, " For 
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Marriage 
has been, and is much corrupted in the nations of the world. 
It was so, even among the Jews, God's ancient people. But 
Christ reduced it in his Church, to its first institution, and 
primitive simplicity, allowing it to subsist only between one 
man and one woman. He also regulated Divorce, by the rule 
of right reason ; and the law of his kingdom forbids believers 
being unequally yoked with unbelievers. We have nothing 
of importance to add to the doctrine of the Confession on this 
subject, only to warn all against marrying within the degrees 
of affinity or consanguinity, forbidden by the law of nature 
and God's Word. We mention this the rather, because an 



204 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

evil is gaining ground in the Churches in this country, viz : 
a man marrying the sister of his deceased wife. To our 
certain knowledge, this corruption of manners has taken 
place in the communion of several Churches, and there has 
"been one instance of it in our own. The evil is likely to in- 
crease with the decay of real practical religion. But the 
practice is contrary to the law of nature, the law of nations, 
and has no countenance from the Word of God ; for the par- 
ticular case under Levitical law is by no means applicable 
to our circumstances. It tends to confound relations and 
the duties resulting from them ; but Grod is the G-od of order 
and not of confusion. It breaks down one of the barriers 
erected against promiscuous and adulterous copulations in 
families ; and were it, and other practices like it, to prevail, 
mankind, instead of forming one united, compact body, would 
soon be singled out into little tribes and factions, which 
would destroy the peace of society. And G-od very often 
puts a mark of his displeasure on such marriages. We 
thought proper just to mention these things, to warn our 
people and other Christians against the unhallowed practice. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 205 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

This chapter treats of the Church of Christ. There are 
in general, but two kingdoms in this world. The kingdom 
of Satan and the kingdom of Christ. All mankind, by their 
apostasy from God, have subjected themselves to the domin- 
ion of Satan. " The whole world lieth in wickedness.' ' 
1 John v, 19. From this wreck, not only of nations, but of 
human nature, Christ collects his Church ; from these rude 
materials, he gathers those, whom as lively stones he builds 
up into a spiritual house, constitutes a royal priesthood, and 
makes a holy nation. The Church of Christ is therefore 
separated and distinguished from the world, by her faith, her 
spirit, her worship, and holy conversation. This society is 
altogether voluntary ; a willing people come to him in the 
day of his power. It is spiritual, as enjoying spiritual priv- 
ileges, performing spiritual worship, maintaining a spiritual 
communion with God, with Christ, and with each other, and 
as formed to the practice of spiritual duties. This society 
acknowledges no head but Christ. He is given to be head 
over all things unto his body the Church. He is her Prophet, 
Priest and King. Her faith, her hope, her worship, and all 



206 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

her laws are from and only from him. She is called his 
kingdom, his temple, his house, his body, etc. 

The distinction between the visible and invisible Church, 
is discerned by God alone. It is not perceptible by us. We 
can easily see, there is ground for such a distinction ; but 
cannot distinguish certainly, who are the elect and who not. 
And it is clear that the visible Church is a society of visible 
saints, both in profession and practice. A Church of Christ 
made up of infidels and immoral persons, is a contradiction 
in terms. There are, no doubt, hypocrites in the visible 
Church; but a hypocrite, as such, is no member of the 
Church, and has no place in it ; for while he acts the hypo- 
crite, he has the semblance of religion, and appears as a 
visible saint. When his former hypocrisy is discovered and 
ascertained, he is no longer a hypocrite ; but appears as an 
infidel or profligate, and must be cast out of the Church, or 
declared to belong to the world. Thus a hypocrite, as such, 
though clearly distinguished by Him, whose eyes are as a 
flame of fire ; yet is a nonentity to us. And the visible 
Church, to distinguish her from the world, must be a holy, 
spiritual, and pure society. This is the temple where Grod 
dwells ; as he hath said, " I will dwell in them and walk in 
them." Here it is that Jesus Christ executes all his offices, 
of Prophet, Priest, and King ; and carries on the scheme of 
redemption as to the application of it. He executed these 
offices, by his own personal ministry, while he sojourned in 
this world. Before his incarnation, he executed them, by 
the ministry of his prophets, by the Aaronical priesthood, the 
theocracy for a considerable time, and afterward by the 
royal authority of David, Solomon, and other pious kings. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 207 

Since his ascension, he continues to execute these offices, and 
carry on the plan of redemption chiefly by the ministry of 
reconciliation. Indeed all the saints under the new Testa- 
ment are called prophets, priests, and kings. In the proph- 
ecy of Joel, which evidently refers to Gospel times, it is said, 
" Thy sons and thy daughters shall prophesy." And the 
whole redeemed company are represented in the first of the 
Apocalypse as saying, " Unto him that loved us, and washed 
us from our sins in his blood, and hath made us kings and 
priests unto God." This shows that Christians in general, 
are not only the subjects of redemption, but are agents under 
Christ, and instruments in his hand, for the purpose of ap- 
plying redemption to others. This is true, more especially 
in the case of heads of families. The civil law says, that 
every man is king in his own house. The Gospel says the 
same, and much more, that every Christian who is a head of 
a family, is prophet, priest, and king in his house. 

There are four things, which Christian parents can and 
will, through grace, do for Christ in their families. First : 
Administer instruction to their children and servants, or 
teach them to know the God of their fathers. Secondly : Set 
a holy and religious example before them. Thirdly: Exer- 
cise a proper authority, and command them to serve the 
Lord. I know, says the Lord, " That my servant Abraham 
will command his house to serve the Lord." Fourthly : Pray 
for them, and for God's blessing on their instructions, exam- 
ple, and authority. But the great Eedeemer executes his 
offices in the Church, especially by the ministry of recon- 
ciliation. This is the grand engine of heaven, for carrying 
on the scheme of redemption. " It pleases God by the 



208 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. The 
Gospel-treasure is put into earthen vessels, that the excellency 
of the power may be of God, and not of men. The Gospel is 
the wisdom of God, and the power of God unto salvation, 
to every one that believeth." It is the office of Gospel min- 
isters to teach others, and it is required as an essential quali- 
fication in them, that they be apt to teach. " Go disciple 
all nations, teaching them, says Christ, to observe all things," 
etc. It is true, the propitiatory part of the priestly office, 
can never be repeated. Christ offered himself once for sins, 
and a repetition of that sacrifice is both unnecessary and 
impossible : but ministers must ever point out that sacrifice 
or atonement to their hearers, as the foundation of their faith 
and hope, and indeed in the administration of the sacra- 
ments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, they are officially 
led to do so. "I determined," says Paul, " to know nothing 
among you but Jesus Christ, and him crucified." By their 
office they are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did 
beseech sinners by them, to be reconciled unto him ; and thus 
the apostle, in the name of all Christ's ministers, says, " We 
pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God." It 
is their duty to pray for the Church ; and thus Christians 
may consider Christ their advocate, as not only praying for 
them in heaven, but as praying with them and for them on 
earth ; for when his ministers pray under the influences of 
his Spirit for the Church, it is really a part of Christ's own 
intercession, in a subordinate line ; and thus they bless their 
people in the name of the Lord. When it is said of Jacob, 
that he blessed the sons of Joseph ; and of other prophets, 
that they blessed the people ; it may no doubt mean, their 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 209 

predicting the future blessings of Providence, that were to 
fall on them : but it chiefly means, their praying for the 
divine blessing upon them. And thus there appears to be 
a great propriety in the apostolical benediction, as still used 
in the Church, " The grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of 
God, and communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 
It is also the office of Christ's ministers under him, to rule 
the Church. They must declare his laws, not only doctrin- 
ally, but judicially and authoritatively. They must bind 
and loose, by the exercise of discipline as well as of doctrine. 
And he declares, that whatsoever they shall bind on earth, 
according to his will, shall be bound in heaven : and whatso- 
ever they shall loose on earth, in the same manner, shall be 
loosed in heaven ; that is, he will ratify and confirm the sen- 
tence. We have said, that a Gospel ministry is the great 
mean of Christ's appointment, for carrying on the scheme of 
redemption. By this, sinners are converted, and saints nour- 
ished and advanced in the divine life. By this, sinners are 
converted. They are begotten by the word of truth. Begot- 
ten to faith and a lively hope by the doctrines of the Gospel. 
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. 
But, says the apostle, ''How can they believe in him of 
whom they have not heard ; how can they hear without a 
preacher; how can they preach except they be sent?" 
They are begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection, or 
the doctrine of Christ's resurrection from the dead. By the 
plain preaching of the law, or broken covenant, conscience is 
awakened ; by this is the knowledge of sin ; and this is the 
ministry of condemnation and death : but it is of great ser- 
vice, for we must become dead to the law before we can live 



210 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

to God. The sinner being alarmed with a sense of his sin 
and danger, is stimulated to fly to Jesus for salvation ; and 
the first act of saving faith in Christ, completes conversion. 
By this ministry, also, true believers are kept in life ; as 
new-born babes, they desire and receive the sincere milk of 
the Word, that they may grow thereby. Christ says to Peter, 
4 'Feed my sheep." And again, "Feed my lambs." And 
the Apostle Paul, to the elders of Ephesus, says, " Peed the 
Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." 
In fine, the Word of God is profitable, for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, and instruction in righteousness. This view 
of the subject may strengthen the faith of Christians, that 
as the application of redemption in the hands of the Media- 
tor will never cease ; so he will never want a true and faith- 
ful ministry in his Church. " Because I live, ye shall live 
also," says he. And this gives us an exalted view of the 
office of the Gospel ministry. It is most honorable and glo- 
rious : but its glory is all spiritual and divine. " I will 
magnify mine office," says Paul. And it teaches, that a 
submission to a true and faithful Gospel ministry, is a sub- 
mission to Christ : a rejection of it, is a rejection of him. " He 
that receiveth you, receiveth me : and he that despiseth you, 
despiseth me : and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that 
sent me." It serves also to show, how much ministers of the 
Gospel should strive to be like Christ in all things. And it 
may encourage their hearts in their arduous work : they are 
workers together with God ; they are prosecuting a design, 
and promoting a cause, which the glorious Trinity has much 
at heart, and which, God has promised, shall finally succeed, 
in spite of all opposition from hell and earth. No wonder 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 211 

then, that Satan points his arrows chiefly at a Gospel 
ministry. In times of persecution, the weight of his fury 
fell commonly on them. In our day, the office is denied by 
some, despised by others, assumed irregularly by many, and 
too much neglected by all. Men who do not love Christ, 
can not love his faithful ministers. It is true, the whole 
efficacy and success of the ministry of reconciliation depends 
on the influences of the Spirit of grace. " It is the Spirit 
that quickeneth. The excellency of the power is of God, 
and not of man. The weapons of our warfare are mighty, 
through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. Paul may 
plant, and Apollos water : but it is God that giveth the in- 
crease." But Christ says to his ministers, " Lo ! I am with 
you always, even to the end of the world." And again, " I 
will send you another comforter, who shall abide with you. 
He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your 
remembrance. And he shall convince the world of sin, of 
righteousness, and of judgment." So that wherever the doc- 
trines of the Gospel are faithfully taught, the worship of God 
performed in purity, and a happy medium maintained in 
discipline, between ruling the flock with rigor, and a lax in- 
attention to good order and government ; wherever Christians 
dwell together in unity, love, and peace, with purity of mor- 
als ; there is no doubt, but in such a Church, the Spirit of 
God will co-operate with the means of grace, to render them 
effectual, more or less, to the conversion of sinners, and up- 
building of saints. The beauty of the Lord will be on such 
a Church. The glory of the Lord will shine on it. Such a 
Church is like a planet moving regularly in its orbit, which 
will continually be beautified with the beams of the sun. 



212 . EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

God's nature or essence is invisible. He can be seen only 
in his works and Word. His glorious perfections are dis- 
cernible in the starry heavens, and the various revolutions 
and productions of the earth. And with propriety we may 
say, by a Church constituted as above, the light of the glory 
of Grod is reflected. The glory of the Lord shines upon her, 
The Lord God and the Lamb is the light thereof. And God 
himself is visible in her. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 213 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

The twenty-sixth chapter treats of the Communion of 
Saints. And the view given us, in the preceding chapter, of 
the nature of Christ's Church, will instruct us in another 
question : What ought to be the terms of communion in his 
Church ? The word Communion properly signifies something 
that is common to a number of persons ; and thus it was said 
of the primitive Christians, who were so moved with the love 
of Christ, and of each other, that the love of the world had 
no place in their hearts, " That they had all things common." 
The rich freely distributed to the poor, and no man called 
anything his own, exclusively of others. All true Christians 
have communion in Christ their head. They have all one 
God and Father with him. " I ascend," says he, " to my God 
and your God, to my Father and your Father." One com- 
mon inheritance. They are all heirs of God, and joint heirs 
with Christ. They have all communion with God the Father, 
with Christ, and with each other in the truth. They all 
think as Christ thinks, on the great foundation truths of 
the Gospel. They are all taught by the Spirit of God, who 
leads them into all truth ; and this communion reaches to 



214 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

the innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just 
men made perfect in heaven. 

The Church militant and triumphant are one in this : 
there is a blessed harmony between them in the truth ; and 
the strongest bonds of union in a Christian Church, are the 
knowledge of the truth, a firm faith in it, love to it, and to 
each other for the truth's sake. True Christians have all 
communion in the justifying righteousness and sanctifying 
spirit of Christ. They are adorned with the same robe of 
righteousness, and drink into one spirit. They are heirs of 
the same promises, and partakers of the same blessings. 
They eat the same spiritual meat, and drink the same spirit- 
ual drink ; for they all drink of that spiritual rock which 
follows them; and that rock is Christ. They have one 
Lord, one faith, and one baptism, and are called in one hope 
of their calling. And it is the duty of Christians to express 
this communion externally, by observing all Christ's institu- 
tions in a social manner. These truths can not be denied ; 
and were it possible to get all true Christians throughout 
the whole world assembled into one Church while none others 
were admitted, there would be very little jarring between 
them, probably none in the great truths and duties of the 
Gospel. But this is impossible. God hath wisely ordered 
it otherwise. The tares and the wheat must grow together 
until the harvest. Christians are the salt of the earth. 
God hath sprinkled this salt over a great part of the world, 
in order to season and preserve from total putrefaction, the 
mass of mankind. Differences in the Church of Christ, 
errors and corruptions spring chiefly from false brethren ; 
formal professors, who have a name to live and yet are dead, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 215 

the form without the power of godliness ; the sons of Diotre- 
phes, who love to have the pre-eminence ; such ever will con- 
nect the Church with the world, and conform her to it as far 
as they can. And we must here also allow something to the 
different capacities of true Christians, their very various 
advances in knowledge, grace and holiness ; and the power 
of temptation under which they sometimes fall. All these 
things being considered, we may safely say, there is not a 
perfectly pure Church on the face of the earth. The purest 
is the best, which we ought carefully to seek and embrace, 
as God gives opportunity. But in nowise must we withdraw 
from her communion altogether. As is common in other 
cases so it is here, we are quick-sighted in discovering the 
spots and blemishes of other Churches ; and they are no 
doubt, equally so, in discerning ours. We cast guilt and 
blame on others, but no man saith what have I done ? There 
is an extreme danger of falling under the power of pharisai- 
cal ostentation, and religious pride in our profession. This 
was the great sin of the Jewish Church in Christ's day, and 
this sin crucified the Lord of glory. It is natural for us to 
say, we are the people, and wisdom shall die with us ; stand 
aside, we are holier than you. And there can be no greater 
evidence of gross hypocrisy, in a religious profession, than 
when a fondness for pompous and showy titles and preten- 
sions overthrows candor, meekness, charity, patience, for- 
bearance and peace. 

Tz king it for granted therefore, that it is the duty of 
Christians to maintain a visible communion with the Church 
of Christ, wherever providence shall order their lot ; that 
no Church is perfectly pure ; that it is their duty to seek 



216 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

the purest communion to which they can have access ; we 
shall proceed to point out the terms of communion, which in 
our opinion come nearest to the Word of God ; on which terms 
any Christian may safely join in stated fellowship with any 
branch of the Christian Church, where Providence may order 
his lot. They are briefly these : First, that the profession of 
faith of Christ in said Church be full and pure. Secondly, 
That her worship be Scriptural, all Christ's ordinances being 
purely administered. Thirdly, That her discipline and gov- 
ernment be according to the Word of Grod, temperate, pure, 
impartial, peaceful and gentle. Fourthly, That her morals 
be strictly conformed to the divine rule. Fifthly, That the 
unity of the Spirit be maintained in the bond of peace. All 
this we maintain with an allowance for the unavoidable 
weaknesses and infirmities, incident to human nature in its 
present imperfect state. On the same conditions, or materi- 
ally the same ; may any Church admit a new member to her 
communion in a stated way. It is requisite, that he have 
a proper degree of knowledge, be found in the faith, holy in 
life, and profess a willing subjection to all the ordinances of 
Christ, particularly to the discipline and government of his 
house. His continuance in fellowship, must depend upon 
his pure and peaceable deportment. The rulers of the 
Church will find much scope for the exercise of wisdom, pru- 
dence, meekness, condescension, charity, and patience in 
this case. They will see the necessity of attending to the 
various capacities, opportunities, means of improvement, 
docility of disposition, the different tempers, and tempta- 
tions of Christians ; and govern themselves by that wisdom 
which is profitable to direct. When a person removes from 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 217 

one Church to another, it is extremely proper, for the sake 
of good order, that he produce a testimonial of his soundness 
in the faith, and holy life. 

That a temporary or what is called occasional communion 
with sister Churches may lawfully in some instances take 
place, is what no man of understanding, who is not much 
pinched to support some favorite and false hypothesis, will 
deny. The terms of it are not materially different from the 
terms of stated communion, only making an allowance for a 
variety in innocent customs and forms. There are doubtless 
points of external order in Churches, which may be called 
indifferent, such as, whether we begin public worship with 
prayer or praise; whether in baptism we sprinkle once 
or thrice ; whether in consecrating the bread and wine in 
the Lord's supper we pray once or twice ; whether we give 
tokens of admission to the Lord's table or not, if otherwise 
proper care be taken to guard against an unhallowed com- 
munion ; and some things may be lawful and expedient in 
one Church, which though lawful, would not be expedient in 
another ; there is also a difference between a Church formed 
and the one only forming ; and between a Church advanc- 
ing in reformation and one falling back from former attain- 
ments. 

By occasional communion we do not mean, the admitting 
to our communion a person whom it would be sinful to con- 
tinue in it ; but a person who on account of his local cir- 
cumstances can not continue in it. Christians may for 
months and years be removed from the place of their stated 
communion. "What shall they do in such circumstances? 

shall they forsake the assemblies of the saints ? shall they 

18 



218 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

cease to express publicly their love to Christ and his people ? 
shall they have no visible communion with that branch of 
the Church of Christ, because it happens to be in another 
part of the world ? shall they cease to give public glory to 
their Kedeemer, and to confess him before men, because they 
are not at home ? Is their Grod a local Deity, confined to a 
particular place, or is his acceptable worship so limited? 
No, Christians may worship G-od everywhere, lifting up holy 
hands without wrath and doubting ; and our Confession saith 
the same thing. Article 3. It is certainly circumscribing 
the doctrine of the Confession too much, to say, that the com- 
munion here meant, is no more than communion in the com- 
mon benefits of life ; because communion in these may be 
lawfully extended to Jews, Turks and heathens. " Do good 
to all men, especially to the household of faith," is a divine 
precept. And if it be so, as some affirm, that common ben- 
efits are not the fruits of Christ's death even to believers, 
are not benefits of the covenant of grace, are neither applied 
by the Spirit, nor received by faith ; it is not easy to see 
how communion in these alone can be Christian communion, 
which believers have with each other in Christ. It would 
also be an unreasonable extension of the phrase, "With all, 
who in every place, call on the name of the Lord Jesus," to 
make it include all pretenders to Christianity. The phrase 
is purely Scriptural ; and doubtless the apostolic sense, if 
we could ascertain it, is the true sense. It is quoted from 
1 Corinthians, i, 2. It cannot be denied then, that the 
apostle intended such Churches, as that at Corinth, though 
several things were imperfect and wrong in it, as will 
readily appear to any, who will read the epistles to that 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 219 

Church. The happy medium on this subject, which would 
neither extend communion too widely, nor circumscribe it too 
much, the true scriptural model, is that at which we would 
aim. The mind of Christ we wish to discern and follow. 
We are far from claiming the prerogatives of the whole 
catholic body of Christ, to our society, in an exclusive sense. 
We will not pretend to unchurch all the Protestant Churches ; 
or say, that their communion is so impure that it would 
contaminate us, to touch, taste, or handle it, in any case. 
But while we say so ; to guard against the mistake as if we 
were pleading for a promiscuous or unhallowed communion ; 
let it be observed, that this question is not at all, concern- 
ing the Church of Kome. Cod has described her as 
anti-christian, as totally gone off the foundation, impure in 
doctrine, idolatrous in worship, tyrannical on one hand, and 
totally loose on the other, in discipline, her government an 
image of the lordly pride of this world ; her morals very 
impure ; she is described as Sodom for filthiness ; Babylon 
for pride and cruelty ; Egypt for darkness, idolatry, and 
tyranny : his people are commanded to come out of her, that 
they partake not of her plagues. Xor is the question con- 
cerning raving sectarians, who have corrupted some, or per- 
haps many of the doctrines of the Gospel, who have set 
aside or maimed, added to or diminished the ordinances of 
Christ. What Christian can favor such opinions as these ? 
The light within, not the Word of God, is the rule of faith 
and life, that is, men may believe and act just as every 
man's own mind directs him, without having a regard to 
any rule or fixed standard. — That we must attempt no 
duty, until the Spirit of God moves us thereto, whereas 



220 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

Christ commands us to pray for his Spirit, and the conse- 
quence of that opinion is commonly, that it leads to a gene- 
ral neglect of many, if not all religious duties. — That every 
one that pleases may commence a teacher in the Church of 
God, or as the Spirit moves him thereto. — That there is no 
Sabbath, no sacraments under the Gospel. Nor is the ques- 
tion concerning any Church or religious society whatsoever, 
that would impose any sinful term or terms of communion ; 
or with whom even a temporary communion would involve 
us in a direct or implied apostasy from the testimony of 
Jesus, and that holy profession of his name to which we 
have attained. Whenever even a temporary communion 
would do this, it ought to be avoided. 

But the question is, concerning the regular, orderly, Pro- 
testant Churches, who have clearly expressed their orthodoxy 
in their Confessions of Faith, adhered thereto, and walk in 
the order of the Gospel, although differing from us in some 
external modes and forms. We cannot pretend to unchurch 
these sister Churches ; or pronounce their communion unclean, 
and in all cases improper to be touched. We could not de- 
fend such a principle from reason or Scripture, and so will 
not advance it. We might have said nothing on this offen- 
sive subject, as it is to some. We might have concealed our 
sentiments ; but in a public declaration of our principles, we 
think this would have been uncandid ; and we hope, tender 
and humble Christians will not wish, that we should ad- 
vance principles which are not supported by reason, good 
sense, nor by the Word of God. From these Churches we 
never separated. Our fathers never thought of pronouncing 
their communion unclean ; far less did they ever think of 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 221 

totally rejecting it. Knox held communion with the foreign 
Churches. Welsh, with the Protestant Church of France. 
Moncrieif, with the Church of Holland, when he studied at 
Leyden, Eenwick received ordination in the Church of 
Holland. And it is a fact, that Eutherford, Henderson, 
Bailey, etc., held communion with their brethren in England, 
while they attended the Westminster Assembly. It was with 
the greatest reluctance, that the ministers of the association, 
first withdrew from the established Church of Scotland. 
They did it with holy fear and humility ; considered it as an 
awful and important step ; still declared they meant no sepa- 
ration from the Church of Scotland, but from a corrupt party 
in that Church ; and they held communion with several 
ministers of that Church for some years after their separa- 
tion. But now schisms and separations are with many a 
light matter ; they tear, and divide in a wanton manner, only 
to gratify pride, passion and ungodly zeal. May the Lord 
have mercy on us, and give his healing Spirit. We shall 
only add, that submission to the discipline of a Church, 
while we are in her communion, is indispensably necessary. 
On the whole, we never can, and never will embrace the 
principle, that all the Protestant Churches, except our own 
party, are unfit for Christian or holy communion. 



222 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CHAPTEES XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX. 

These three chapters treat on the same subject, viz : the 
Seals of the Covenant of Grace, and therefore our remarks 
shall be thrown together under one head. The Lord and 
Saviour of the Church did not see it proper, that his Church 
should be one moment without visible seals and tokens of 
his gracious covenant with her. Immediately after he had 
celebrated the last Passover with his disciples, on the very 
night in which he was betrayed, he set that aside, as unlit 
for the new dispensation he was about to introduce, in which 
there is no more any offering of sanguinary sacrifices : and in 
place thereof, he took the bread and the cup, blessed them 
and gave them to his disciples ; and appointed this to be a 
standing ordinance in his Church, until his coming to judg- 
ment, to perpetuate the remembrance of his death, and keep 
it constantly in our view, as the meritorious cause of all 
blessings. Baptism with water, was administered by John, 
commonly called the Baptist. But his baptism was only 
temporary ; it was preparatory to the coming of Christ, and 
was an early intimation of the glorious change which 
the Messiah was about to introduce: it intimated that 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 223 

circumcision would give way to it. Christ, himself, when a 
child, was circumcised, and so acknowledged a member of 
the Jewish Church, and as one of Abraham's seed, and in 
Abraham's covenant. But behold, when he begins his public 
ministry, which was to make all things new, he was baptized 
by John in Jordan ! John's baptism was, as Paul says, the 
baptism of repentance, in which he said to the people, that 
they should believe on Him that should come after him, that 
is, on Christ Jesus. The disciples of Christ also baptized, 
and very probably it was in much the same manner as John's 
baptism. But we have the institution of that baptism which 
is to continue in the Church to the end of time, in the 28th 
of Matthew. Jesus, after his resurrection, said to his apos- 
tles, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy G-host ; 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of 
the world." Go not only to the Jewish nation, but to all 
nations. Do not circumcise, but baptize them. Do not, 
like John, baptize them in the name of God, as about to 
send his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world, to set up his king- 
dom therein : but baptize them in the name of the Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost. Exhibit to them a redemption con- 
trived by the Father, purchased by the Son, and applied by 
the Holy Ghost. From this moment, circumcision became 
unnecessary. It began to die apace : and after a little, be- 
came totally obsolete and unlawful. Circumcision was the 
badge of distinction between Abraham's seed, and other 
nations. But now, when the Church is thrown open to all 
nations, that badge of distinction is justly laid aside. These 



224 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

sacraments, of Baptism and the Supper, are emblematical 
representations of the great fact on which our salvation de- 
pends, to wit : the death of Christ, and the benefits resulting 
from it. namely: the remission of sins, and all other prom- 
ised blessings : and are also undeniable evidences of the 
truth and authenticity of the Xew Testament writings. Tor 
it is recorded in these writings, that such rites were insti- 
tuted by Christ, and practiced by his apostles from the 
beginning. And. as has been formerly remarked, it would 
have been totally impossible, to persuade men. that they had 
been baptized, and had baptized their children : had cele- 
brated the Lord's supper, and enjoined their children to do 
so: if they had not truly been and done so. And thus it 
would have been impossible that they could have received as 
true, books which said they had done so. if they had not been 
conscious that it was so : and therefore that these looks were 
true and genuine. Thus the Word bears testimony to the 
sacraments, and the sacraments bear witness to the truth of 
the Word. They mutually support each other. 

It is vain to say that the spiritual baptism renders bap- 
tism with wat:r un ry, for it is easy to prove that the 
apostles administered baptism with water to such as had 
obtained baptism with the Spirit : and for that very reason, 
too, because they had received the Holy G-host. Acts x. 47. 
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be bap- 
tized, who have received the Holy G-host, as well as we. How 
offensive, then, to God and good men. to lay aside these 
monuments : it is an attempt to overthrow two of the prin- 
cipal evidences of the truth of the Christian religion, and 
tends ultimately to aid and abet the cause of infidelity ! 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 225 

But those who allow the necessity of these monuments are 
divided about them. On the sacrament of the supper, there 
is not so much disputation among Protestants. But we can 
not here help noticing, that there is a manifest congruity 
between the Lord's supper, and the doctrines of Christ's di- 
vinity, imputed righteousness, and infinite atonement for sin. 
But we think it is utterly inconsistent with Socinian, Arian, 
and Arminian doctrines ; and much wonder, that men of 
these principles can observe it. Surely it must appear a 
senseless thing to them. Baptism has been, and is a fertile 
source of disputation and division. Some insist that it must 
of necessity be administered by plunging, or immersion ; and 
that it is altogether wrong to administer it to infants. The 
first part of the dispute is not so important as the last. Yet 
surely our brethren carry their argument quite too far, when 
they insist on immersion as essential to the right administra- 
tion of the ordinance. For there is no unquestionable proof 
from the Scriptures that ever immersion was practiced in bap- 
tism. No, we repeat it, not any. But supposing, not granting, 
that John had baptized by immersion ; yea, supposing the 
disciples of Christ had done so before Christ instituted the 
permanent baptism of the New Testament ; this would not 
satisfy. John came neither eating nor drinking ; he wore a 
garment of camel's Jiair; was girt about with a leathern 
girdle. He appeared in all the stern dignity, and rough 
austerity of the ancient prophets. Christ did not appear so ; 
and he himself marks the difference. John was concluding 
a severe ritual and ceremonial dispensation, and calling on 
men to prepare for a very different one. John baptized unto 
repentance: saying, " Believe on him that is to come after 
19 



226 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

me." But the permanent baptism of the New Testament 
was instituted after Christ's resurrection ; and points him 
out as come ; as having finished redemption, and set aside 
the ritual and ceremonial system ; with all severities adapted 
to it. The question is, did Christ institute immersion ? Did 
his apostles, after his resurrection, always or ever baptize in 
that manner ? We are not afraid to say, it cannot be proved ; 
and it is certain, Christ speaks of two baptisms, which could 
not be performed by immersion. His own baptism with his 
own blood; he doubtless was sprinkled with it: but not 
plunged in it. And baptism with the Holy Ghost ; and this 
is invariably represented by sprinkling, never by dipping. 
" Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, a right spirit will 
I put within you ; I will pour on the house of David, etc. 
the spirit of grace;" alluding to the clouds pouring out, or 
sprinkling down rain on the earth. It is said the children 
of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the 
sea. Surely they were not dipped in the cloud, and in the 
sea. But it is said, they were buried in the sea ; there was 
a representation of a burial ; and believers are expressly said 
to be buried with Christ in baptism. But we answer, the 
same thing, the same spiritual blessing is meant, when be- 
lievers are said to be crucified with Christ ; and this method 
of arguing would infer the necessity of «the sign of the cross 
in baptism, as well as that of a burial. Our salvation by 
baptism is represented by the salvation of Noah in the ark. 
The wicked that perished, were indeed buried in the waters ; 
but Noah and his family rose above the flood ; while water 
was sprinkled from the clouds on them. But enough of this. 
If it could be made appear that this was the mode certainly 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 227 

instituted by Christ, we should cheerfully observe it ; but it 
does not appear to be so. 

The next point is of more importance ; whether the infants 
of believers have a right to baptism or not ? And here we 
must candidly own, that on this head, too much cause has 
been, and still is given to our Baptist brethren, to separate 
from the Church. For Baptism, as it is presently adminis- 
tered in many Churches, is truly a bond of union between 
Christ's kingdom and the world. "Worldly and wicked men, 
yea, even deists and profane mockers of God and religion ; 
men who are manifestly dead to God and godliness, are ad- 
mitted to receive baptism to their children. This is a fear- 
ful prostitution of the ordinance, and must grieve the hearts 
of God's people, while it dishonors Him. But this is, per- 
haps, only an abuse of a good and lawful thing. Our breth- 
ren should reflect on a very natural propensity in human 
nature, that to avoid one extreme, we are apt to rush to the 
opposite. The question is not at all concerning such an 
abuse of the ordinance ; but, it is whether the infants of 
visible believers have a right to it ? We verily think they 
have ; and, without pretending to infallibility, will give our 
reasons for this opinion. The following facts satisfy us. 

First. There is not an instance in all the book of God, of 
a covenant made with parents, which did not include their 
children. And, indeed, this is true of all covenants made 
between men, which can extend, in their nature, to their 
children. ' The covenant made with Noah, was also made 
with his children. The covenant made with Abraham in- 
cluded his posterity. The covenant of an everlasting priest- 
hood with Aaron and Phineas, included their posterity. 



228 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

The covenant of royalty made with David, included his pos- 
terity. And all these were types of the covenant of grace 
given to the Church, both then and now. And, doubtless, 
the penetrating faith of these holy men, saw the covenant 
of grace and life under these emblems ; it is certain Abra- 
ham did, for the apostle affirms that he received the sign of 
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith, which he 
had, being yet uncircumcised. And in all these covenants, 
which had any visible signs or seals annexed to them, the 
seal was given to the children as well as to the parents. 
Thus the rainbow, the token of Noah's covenant, was visible 
to his young children as well as to himself. Circumcision 
was given to Abraham's children at the age of eight days. 

Secondly. The Lord having thus made a grant of the cove- 
nant to his people and their seed, and a seal of it likewise to 
both, under the Old Testament ; we would wish to see any proof 
that the Lord Jesus hath recalled that grant under the New 
Testament. If this could be shown, it would end the con- 
troversy. But we are bold to say, it never can. God still 
says to his people, " I will be your God and the God of your 
seed." " The promise is to you," says Peter, " and to your 
children." Christ did not come to destroy the law and the 
prophets. This gracious doctrine of God's ancient prophets 
is not annulled nor repealed by Christ. He came not to di- 
minish the privileges of his people, but to enlarge them. 
But how grievously diminished must they be, if our infant- 
seed be, under the Gospel, cast out of God's covenant ; and 
in the same relative state every way, as the children of 
the heathen. We say the same relative state, for the ques- 
tion is not concerning their spiritual and moral nature ; we 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 2'2 ( J 

will allow they arc shapen in sin and conceived in iniquity. 
But do they stand in the same relation altogether to God and 
his Church, as the children ,of the heathen ? Christ ac- 
knowledges little children to be the members of his king- 
dom ; " Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of God." On what is 
a kingdom formed ? It is on a compact or covenant between 
the king and people. The kingdom of God is formed on the 
covenant of grace, that gracious contract between him and 
his Church. It is clear, a king's son is born as weak and 
helpless a creature as the son of any of his subjects. What 
then makes the difference ? It is the covenant-relation be- 
tween the king and the nation ; by virtue of that relation, 
the king's son is born a prince. We mean by this to show, 
what mere covenant relations will do, where there is no spe- 
cific difference. And to the same purpose, a child born of 
lawful wedlock, inherits the father's titles and estate ; but a 
child born of fornication is entitled to neither. Every child 
born under the covenant or compact, which forms any king- 
dom, is entitled to all the rights and liberties of a citizen. 
" But I was free born," says Paul. Can not we conceive, 
then, that a covenant subsisting between Christ and his 
people, may make some relative difference between their seed 
and the children of heathens ? The apostle surely affirms 
so, when he says, " The unbelieving wife is sanctified by the 
believing husband, etc., else were your children unclean: 
but now are they holy." Christ laid his hands on the little 
children brought to him ; the imposition of his hands was a 
token of his confirming them in all the privileges of his 
kingdom, as they became capable of enjoying them. "Go," 



230 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

says he, " make all nations my disciples, initiate them by 
baptism, and teach them to observe all things," etc. Chil- 
dren are a very considerable part of every nation ; and a 
person becomes a disciple, the moment that he enters the 
school, before he has learned a word. This is sufficiently 
applicable to the case of children. By baptism they are 
acknowledged disciples, and by it a religious education is 
secured to them, if things went right ; for, supposing the 
parents should neglect it, or die, the Church, in which they 
were baptized, is bound in the sight of G-od, to see that they 
get it ; and beside, they are the proper objects of Church 
discipline, from the time they are capable of it ; and have 
not the good fruits of this been manifested all along ? and 
do not they still appear? Pray, who are the real living 
members of Christ's Church at this day? Who, but the 
posterity of those who were the members thereof a century 
or two centuries ago ? No doubt there are exceptions of in- 
dividuals ; but in general it is true. Many individuals of 
Abraham's posterity who left Egypt, never entered the prom- 
ised land. But it is certain, the people who possessed the 
land, were Abraham's posterity, according to the covenant ; 
and none, who came out of Egypt were excluded, but those 
who cast themselves out of the protection of the promise, by 
rebellion and unbelief; and we may say the same thing of 
the posterity of believers, under the New Testament. 

Moreover, it is a fact, that no father of a family can, in 
God's estimation, make an adequate profession of his sub- 
jection to the Lord ; unless he subject all under his power 
to him. But by the appointment of heaven children are put 
under the power and authority of their parents. God there- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 231 

fore expects, that they will give them up to him in all his 
ordinances, as they become gradually capable of receiving 
them. Now it is clear, young children are as capable of 
baptism, as Abraham's seed, on the eighth day, were of cir- 
cumcision. And as they advance to maturity of judgment, 
parents must teach them, and bring them to the house of 
God to hear his Word, and see baptism and the Lord's 
supper administered ; put them often in mind of their bap- 
tism ; and enjoin it on them, when they become capable of 
self-examination, to give themselves to the Lord at his table. 
This is evidently the Divine scheme. I know my servant 
Abraham, that he will command his house to serve the 
Lord. Joshua said, whatever others do, as for me and my 
house, we will serve the Lord. Eli is blamed and punished 
for the neglect of his children ; by which he was accessory 
to their guilt. David says, "And thou, Solomon, my 
son, know thou the God of thy fathers. I will walk, 
says he, with a perfect heart, within my house at home. 
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they 
may dwell with me. He that walketh in a perfect way, 
shall serve me. He that worketh deceit, shall not dwell 
within my house," etc., Psalms, ci. And under the Xew 
Testament, we read, that whenever the father or head of a 
family, made a profession of faith in Christ, he and his 
whole house were baptized. Thus says Paul, I baptized 
also the household of Stephanas. 1 Cor. i, 16. Lydia and 
her household were baptized. Acts xvi, 15. The jailer 
was baptized, he and all his, straightway. Acts xvi, 33. 
The authority given by God to a parent or head of a family 
is very great ; and none in that station can serve the Lord 



232 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

to the utmost extent of their ability and authority, unless 
they command their children to do so too. It therefore fol- 
lows, that parents can not make an adequate profession of 
their subjection to the Lord, unless they give their children 
up to him in baptism. And we fear not to affirm, that 
there is not an instance in the New Testament of the young 
children of baptized parents, being baptized a long time 
after their parents, or when grown up to maturity. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 233 



CHAPTEES XXX, XXXI. 

In these two chapters, the subject treated is Church Gov- 
ernment and Discipline. The Church of Christ is a body of 
visible saints professing their firm faith in God's Word; 
and engaged by covenant to worship him through the medi- 
ation of Jesus Christ ; and walk in all his ordinances and 
commandments, whether pointing forth their duty to God, to 
one another, or to mankind at large. It is clear, that as no 
society can subsist without order and government, so neither 
can this. Christ must therefore have appointed a form of 
government in his Church. He alone is her king and law- 
giver ; none has a legislative power in his kingdom but 
himself. And we cannot suppose that Christ has been so 
deficient in his care about his kingdom, as to institute no 
mode of government in it, or leave it to the discretion of men. 
A Church without government and discipline, is like a 
besieged city without walls; or a field without a fence. 
And in such a Church (could it exist), the kingly office of 
Christ would be totally rejected. And to assume any form 
of government of human contrivance, or not authorized by 
Christ ; would also in effect renounce that office, and acknow- 



234 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 

ledge another lawgiver beside Christ. The Word of God is 
the Church's rule in all things ; and therefore in it we must 
search for that mode of government which the Eedeemer has 
instituted. 

There are two plain principles on this head, clearly taught 
in the Scriptures. First, That there is a distinction between 
rulers and ruled : or between church officers and other mem- 
bers. Secondly, That the kingdom of Christ is one. His 
Church is one body, one house, one building, one vineyard, 
one flock, one family, one husbandry, one kingdom. These 
two Scriptural, and indeed rational principles, which can 
not be controverted, may greatly assist our inquiries on this 
subject. There is a distinction stated between rulers and 
ruled, church officers and other members. " Obey them 
that have the rule over you, for they watch for your souls 
as they that must give an account. The elders that rule 
well, count worthy of double honor, especially them that 
labor in the Word and doctrine." And the apostle Paul, in 
his first epistle to the Corinthians, chap, xii, establishes 
both these principles incontrovertibly ; where he compares 
the Church to the natural body. " For as the body is one 
and hath many members, and all the members of that one 
body being many, are one body ; so also is Christ. If the 
whole body were an eye," says he, " where were the hearing ? 
If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling ?" He 
then applies the similitude. " Now are ye the body of 
Christ and members in particular. And God hath set some 
in the Church ; first, apostles ; secondarily, prophets, etc., 
helps, governments." Then he puts the question; "Are 
all apostles? Are all prophets?" And with equal propri- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 235 

ety it may be added, nay, indeed it is implied, are all 
helps ? Are all governments ? which interrogative is the 
strongest negative. It is therefore manifest, that the inde- 
pendent plan which commits the government of the Church 
into the hands of the whole body of the faithful, has not the 
appearance of conformity unto the scriptural model. It 
destroys the scriptural distinction between church rulers 
and other members ; and also overthrows the unity of the 
body of Christ. It makes as many independent Churches 
as there are particular congregations. 

Another mode of ecclesiastical government for which many 
have contended, is the hierarchy introduced into the Church 
at the time when antichrist was advancing to the fullness of 
his power ; and retained in England by king Henry VIII, 
when he cast off the Pope's authority and assumed the headship 
over the Church to himself and his successors. We have 
little to say about this. It is a pity that ever any attempt- 
ed to vindicate it by the Word of Grod. It is contrary to 
the Spirit of the Christian religion, which is not lordly, but 
meek and lowly — to the doctrine of Christ, " My kingdom is 
not of this world" — to the peremptory laws of his kingdom. 
" Ye know that the rulers of the G-entiles exercise lordship 
over them, but it shall not be so among you." Diotrephes, 
who aspired after the pre-eminence, is stigmatized with in- 
famy. And there is no pattern of any such lordly dominion 
or prelatical power in all the New Testament. It is true 
the apostles were superior in office to the ordinary pas- 
tors, rulers, and elders of the Church. But it is a wild and 
extravagant fancy, that the apostolical office continues in 
the Church. The pretense confutes itself. Let those who 



236 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

pretend to the apostolical office, make it manifest that they 
have apostolical powers. Every office and its powers must 
stand and fall together. John says, that the city of the 
new Jerusalem hath twelve foundations, and in them the 
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. But if the Pope, 
Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops be apostles too: this 
city must have innumerable foundations, and innumerable 
names in them. The apostles often acted in the character 
of ordinary pastors and elders to the Church. Peter says, 
" The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an 
elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. " And there 
is nothing more certain, than that the standing ministers of 
the Church are in the Scriptures designated indifferently, 
elders, pastors, watchmen, rulers, bishops. It may throw 
some light on this subject, to attend to the time and occa- 
sion of the introduction of prelacy and independency. It is 
certain, that prelacy never made its appearance in the 
Church, until she began to decline far from the purity and 
humility of the primitive Church, and never attained its 
hight, until the man of sin sat down on Christ's throne in 
the temple of Grod, and exalted himself above all that is 
called G-od ; and the Popedom is only a higher degree on the 
same scale. It is further certain, that when our ancestors 
departed from the prelatical Church, they were struck with 
such horror at the tyranny and unscriptural authority of 
the bishops, that, to shun that extreme, some of them ran to 
the opposite, namely, to divest church officers of all ruling 
power, and surrender it into the hands of the people. We 
can much more easily account for both these, from the pas- 
sions and weaknesses of human nature, than from the Word 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 237 

of God. But there must be a medium between these two 
extremes ; and the Presbyterian plan of government, prop- 
erly adjusted, seems to be that medium. It is a collateral 
argument in its favor, that it requires a truly humble 
Christian spirit, to constitute a true Presbyterian ; while it 
allows official power enough to church officers, for the right 
management of the kingdom of Christ. It is further re- 
markable, that what is truly good in the prelatical and 
congregational modes of government, is really a part of 
Presbytery. We do not mean to enter on any labored ar- 
gument on this subject. We are all well pleased with the 
propositions concerning Church government laid down in our 
standards ; to which we refer. But it must still be remem- 
bered, that all the power delegated by Christ to his officers, 
is only declarative and ministerial. They can only declare 
and administer in his name, the laws which he has enacted. 
And when in attempting to do this, they act according to 
his will, " Then whatsoever they bind on earth, shall be 
bound in heaven : and whatsoever they loose on earth, shall 
be loosed in heaven." And thus, in the case of obstinate 
transgressors who remain finally impenitent, that word is 
verified ; their sin shall not be forgiven in this world nor in 
the world to come. The Church cannot loose their sentence 
in this life, nor will Christ in the life to come. 

The unity of the Church of Christ pleads highly for a 
subordination of Church judicatories. .For as two or three 
sessions or consistories may unite their powers in a Presby- 
tery : so two or three Presbyteries may in a Synod ; and two 
or more synods may in a General Assembly : and a number 
of these again may concenter their powers in a more gene- 



238 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

ral Council. And indeed the true spirit and form of Pres- 
byterianism, are calculated to unite the Church throughout 
the whole world in one body. This says not a little for it ; 

° An objection will instantly occur to an injudicious critical mind ; 
that we plead for the unity of the Church on the Presbyterian plan : 
but have overthrown it, by renouncing subordination to all foreign 
jurisdiction. The answer to this objection is easy. Our local distance 
from Britain is such, as renders subordination in the inferior de- 
grees of the scale, altogether impracticable. There is a manifest 
difference between the lower and higher degrees of the immediately 
connecting or uniting parts in the Presbyterian body. It is clear 
that the constituent families of a congregation may be easily united, 
by delegation, in a Session ; while it would be impracticable and un- 
profitable to unite them all personally in one judicature. A number 
of contiguous Sessions may, by delegation, concenter their powers in 
a Presbytery ; while it would be inconvenient and impracticable to 
unite all the members in one Session. And a number of Presbyte- 
ries adjacent to each other, may, by their delegates, unite their coun- 
cils in a Synod ; while it would be impossible to collect them all into 
one Presbytery. In like manner, all the Synods in the United 
States might combine their councils and powers, for the purpose of 
rule and government, in a General Assembly ; but could not all con- 
veniently meet in one Synod. And all the General Assemblies in 
Europe and America, might combine in one General Council, in like 
manner, but could not all in a General Assembly. Finally, we may 
add, that all the Churches in the world might do the same by dele- 
gation in a Council still more general ; but could not all come into 
immediate contact or unition in any other way; nor in the grade 
immediately below. We are therefore too low in the scale, consider- 
ing our local distance, for any practicable or profitable unition with 
the Churches in Britain. We cannot send members to represent us 
there ; and subordination without representation, is not Presbytery, 
but Popery; not liberty, but slavery. The points of unition, or im- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 239 

and this idea of the unity of the Church, is held up in 
many places of the New Testament. It is certain, that the 
ministers and officers of the primitive Church, viewed them- 

mediate contact, in Churches at such a distance, are near the top of 
the scale : but we are near the foot of it. This scheme is not fanci- 
ful : it is truly Presbyterial. And were Christians what they ought 
to be, or perhaps might be, it is not impracticable. But indeed, 
considering the imperfections of human nature, we have little pros- 
pect of such a unition and comprehension of Churches ; however, 
there is one ground of consolation, that we can look up, and behold 
all true Churches united and connected in Christ the head of the 
whole body. We have said that we are too low in the scale, consid- 
ering our local situation, to be properly united to the Churches in 
Britain ; and indeed it is so. But were all the Presbyterian 
Churches in America to purify themselves, remove causes of jealousy, 
and come into a scriptural harmony ; and were the Churches in 
Britain and Ireland to do the same ; we see no reason why they 
might not concenter their powers in a general Council when neces- 
sary : nor on this supposition do we see any cause to prevent all the 
Churches in America and Europe, or indeed in the whole world, doing 
the same in a still more general council. And something like this, 
as appears from history, took place in the early days of Christianity. 
It is clear, it could be accomplished only by delegation, and the 
unavoidable expenses behooved to be a common burden. 

But who can help remarking the inconsistency and depravity of 
human nature, when we see men by a wild, ungoverned zeal for 
Presbytery, as they pretend, running headlong, and dragging 
the Churches into independency ; destroying the harmony of the 
Church, where it is sufficiently practicable to support Presbyterial 
union, for the sake of a connection impracticable and unprofitable 
in our circumstances. This is to make Presbytery destroy Presby- 
tery ; that is, impracticable or unprofitable and popish Presbytery, 
to destroy practicable, profitable, and Scriptural Presbytery. Such 



240 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

selves as standing in a general relation to the whole body of 
Christ, in whatever place it was, and as interested deeply in 
the prosperity of the whole. The apostle Panl says to the 
elders of the Chnrch of Ephesus. " Take heed to yourselves, 
and the whole flock (not flocks) over which the Holy Grhost 
hath made you bishops." And there was evidently a Pres- 
bytery in the Church at Antioch ; for we have an account 
of their performing a judicial act, to wit, the ordination of 
Saul and Barnabas. In this Church a dissension took 
place among the officers thereof, about circumcision : and 
after much disputation, that Presbytery referred the whole 

men are zealous Presbyterians in principle, and violent independ- 
ents in practice. Their zeal defeats its own intention. They grasp 
the shadow and reject the substance. They renounce Presbytery at 
their hand, to catch it at a distance, where they can not in present 
circumstances reach it. We have always testified a cheerful readi- 
ness to correspond with our brethren abroad, for mutual advice and 
help ; and were the judicatories of the Churches here, to rise higher 
in the scale, they might easily, in a future day, come into contact 
with those in Europe, in a Presbyterial and Scriptural manner* It 
would almost tempt even a firm Presbyterian, were he to allow himself 
to think but superficially on the subject, to question whether that 
plan of government have the divine approbation, that the provi- 
dence of God, in ruling this world, seems to fix men down to inde- 
pendency against their principles. At least it is certain, that even 
zealous Presbyterians, through want of candor, humility, forbear- 
ance and patience, run wildly into the grossest independency: but it 
must be ascribed to the powerful corruptions of the human heart, 
pride, want of charity and a fondness for peculiar, and sometimes 
whimsical sentiments. And when thus viewed, it turns out to be 
no indirect or weak evidence, that Presbyterian government is truly 
of God. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 241 

affair unto the synod at Jerusalem, and sent Paul and Bar- 
nabas, and certain others as members to that synod. And 
accordingly the apostles and elders came together to consider 
of this matter referred to them, and after much disputing 
and reasoning (from which it is rational to infer, that the 
apostles acted not in their extraordinary character, or by 
the spirit of apostolical inspiration ; but as ordinary officers 
in the Church of Christ, who have the promise of his pref- 
erence and direction of his Spirit, when met in his name), 
they came to a final decision on the point : and their deci- 
sions on that, and other points not mentioned, are called the 
decrees ordained of the apostles and elders ; which were 
given unto the Churches for to keep. We will only just 
add here, that as the true spirit and form of Presbyterian 
government are adapted to unite the Church of Christ 
throughout the world into one body ; so the true principles, 
spirit and form of the Christian religion are calculated, to 
unite the whole world of mankind into one great empire or 
peaceable confederacy, so as to exclude wars and all their 
concomitant plagues forever from the earth ; while each 
state might enjoy all its rights and liberties. And perhaps 
this may yet be the case ; doubtless it will be so, if ever the 
Church of Christ fill the world, and the Spirit of Christ fill 
the Church. 

Unto church officers Christ has committed the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven ; to wit : the key of doctrine and the key 
of discipline. In the exercise of this great and mighty 
trust, they must study to be faithful, as bearing only the 
character of servants in the house. They may compliment 

men with their own things: but it is infinitely dangerous 
20 



242 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

to compliment them with the things of Jesus Christ. If 
they please men in these matters, they can not be the ser- 
vants of Christ. In the exercise of both, they deal with 
the consciences of men ; for they act in the name and stead 
of the Lord of conscience, and handle his law the rule of 
conscience. It is evident they may touch many cases of sin 
and duty, by the key of doctrine, which they can not by 
the key of discipline. The faithful exercise of both will 
produce noble fruits. 

There is nothing punitive, nothing vindictive in the cen- 
sures of the Church. The Church knows nothing of civil 
pains and penalties in her censures. Xo, ecclesiastical 
power is of Christ, and is spiritual only. It is called in 
Scripture, a bewailing or lamenting over the offender. And 
it is certain, that Church officers never pass censure, in the 
spirit of their office, without much grief of heart. They 
may proceed by suspension and deposition from office, and by 
excommunication. What is called the inferior degree of the 
last, seems to be a suspension from the seals of the covenant; 
the higher sentence is a pronouncing an obstinate irreclaim- 
able transgressor, to be totally unfit for communion in any 
branch of the catholic Church, and that he properly belongs 
to Satan's kingdom, the world. " Let him be to thee as a 
heathen-man or a publican," says Christ. It is clear, that 
Church officers ought to be extremely cautious in passing 
this last censure. There is not an instance of it in the 
whole book of G-od mentioned with approbation, except in 
the case of propagating some very noxious error, or commit- 
ting some flagraut breach of the moral law in practice. 
There are two ends to be aimed at in Church censure. The 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 249 

first is, asserting the glory of God. vindicating the honor and 
purity of true religion, and keeping up the distinction be- 
tween Christ's ondefiled kingdom, and the world which lieth 
in wickedness. The second is, gaining the offender or recov- 
ering him from the snare of the devil. These two ends are 
perfectly harmonious and consistent ; both oiuht to be kept 
in view ; and it will require much spiritual prudence — 
11 Much of that wisdom which is from above, and is first pure, 
then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, without par- 
tiality, and without hypocrisy, full of mercy and good 
fruits," to gain both. If. under the pretense of saving an 
offender in the communion of the Church, we should dis- 
honor God, grieve the Spirit, and wound religion, the case is 
dreadful. And if, under the pretext of zeal for God's glory, 
we should rule the nock with rigor, and discourage, or too 
much cast down in despair the offender, the effect is also 
dreadful. 

It has been alleged, that, in Church censure, yea, even in 
the highest sentence. Church rulers have nothing to do, no 
concern with, no question about the spiritual state of the 
offender, or his state before God. This seems to be a strange 
assertion. Is it possible that a spiritual ordinance affecting 
the conscience, passed in the name and stead of the Lord of 
conscience, and. according to his law. the rule of conscience, 
and for a scandal which must be a breach of his spiritual 
law. and to gain a spiritual end — the destruction of the 
flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the 
Lord — can have no concern about the spiritual state of the 
offender ? But the assertion appears to be ambiguous ; if 
the meaning be. that we can not see him as God sees him. 



244 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

that we can not judge him as Grod judges him, in every 
respect ; it is true, but without sense ; for God sees the 
heart, which we can not see, and to which no man will 
pretend. Men judge by the outward appearance. "By 
their fruits," says Christ, " ye shall know them." But if 
it be, that we can not see nor judge of his state before the 
Lord, as the Lord has directed us to see it, and judge of 
it ; then it is false. It is said, that it is only the person's 
practice of which we are to judge. But Christ says, by 
their fruits ye shall know them. What is the meaning of 
this? Is it, by their fruits ye shall know their fruits? 
No ; but by their fruits ye shall know them ; for the tree is 
known by its fruits. What about them ? Surely their 
spiritual state. We are commanded to try the spirits 
whether they be of G-od. Paul says, " He that is spiritual 
judgeth all things." He compares spiritual things with 
spiritual. The Church wrestles against spiritual wickedness 
in high places. " There is a sin unto death ; I say not that 
ye shall pray for it," says John. This direction implies 
that the sin unto death was, and is, something visible to 
men. And what if the scandal, for which a person is 
cast out of the Church, should be something that does not 
pertain immediately to practice ; some damnable error or 
heresy, which the Church can not help viewing in any other 
light, than as inconsistent with salvation? It can not be 
denied, that some Socinians have a good moral deportment, 
and yet deny the Trinity, and aver that Jesus Christ is a 
mere man. The Apostle John adds, " Hereby know ye the 
Spirit of G-od : every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ 
is come in the flesh, is of Grod. And every spirit that 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 245 

confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not 
of God. Ye are of God, little children. They are of the 
world. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. 
He that knoweth not God, heareth not us ; hereby know we 
the Spirit of God, and the spirit of error. Every one that 
loveth, is born of God. He that loveth not, knoweth not 
God ; for God is love ; therefore, let us love one another. 
Hereby do we know that we dwell in him, and he in us ; 
because he hath given us of his Spirit." 

There are three propositions on this head which are incon- 
trovertible. First, The Church of Christ is a body of visible 
saints. Secondly, That true Christians may fall into sin. 
Thirdly, That they cannot persist or continue in it. First, 
The Church of Christ is a body of visible saints. Paul's 
address to the Church of Corinth is altogether to this purpose. 
" Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that 
are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints ; with all 
that in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus." 
And that to Ephesus is similar. " To the saints which are 
at Ephesus." And so on through the epistles. And the 
Lord himself conveys this idea of his Church, when he says 
to Paul, " I have made thee a minister and a witness," etc. 
For what purpose ? "To open men's eyes, to turn them from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God ; 
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
among them that are sanctified by faith that is in me." 
Christ declares, " That except a man be born again, he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God." He cannot be a true 
and proper member of God's kingdom on earth, " For if any 
man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature." And the 



246 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

apostle John remarks, " He that committeth sin is of the 
devil. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not ; whosoever 
sinneth hath not seen him neither known him. Whosoever 
is born of Grod sinneth not, for his seed remaineth in him, 
and he cannot sin because he is born of Grod." Which ex- 
pressions must be explained by others in connection with 
them. It is manifest the apostle means that the children of 
G-od cannot follow a tract of sin ; they cannot allow it in 
themselves, for this is contrary to their new nature, and that 
seed of grace which remaineth in them. This is clear from 
two other sentences uttered by him in connection with these, 
" He that doeth not righteousness is not of G-od ; neither he 
that loveth not his brother." And again, " He that doeth 
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." And, 
without supposing these truths, there would be no difference 
between the pure, spiritual kingdom of Christ, and the 
world which lieth in wickedness. Let us remark the 
phrase, " the whole world lieth in wickedness." Christians 
can not do so. Secondly ; it is an undeniable principle 
in our religion, that even true saints may fall into acts of 
sin, and these very grievous too. The same apostle asserts 
this : " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and 
the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we 
make him a liar, and his word is not in us." And, again, 
''These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And, if 
any man sin, (let him not sink into despair,) we have an 
advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous : 
and he is the propitiation for our sins." This is also clear 
from fact and experience. It is manifest, from the history 
of the saints recorded in Scripture, that they were encom- 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 247 

passed with infirmities, and fell into acts of sin. Peter 
denied his Lord. Peter and Barnabas dissembled. Paul 
and John Mark had sharp contention. Paul complained of 
a law in his members, which warred against the law of his 
mind, and led him into captivity to the law of sin and 
death ; which made him call out, " wretched man that 
I am !" But, thirdly, Grod's people can not continue in sin ; 
can not lie still in it ; can not live in it. God will, by his 
spirit of grace, recover them. He will raise them up again. 
"I, like a lost sheep, went astray," says the Psalmist; 
" seek thy servant." And, in the twenty-third Psalm, he 
acknowledges the good shepherd had clone this : " He 
restore th my soul." But how doth he restore them ? By 
granting them renewed repentance. When a professor of 
the religion of Jesus, then, falls into sin in the sight of a 
brother ; a question arises in the mind of the beholder, 
whether the transgressor allow himself in it or not ? The 
offender must be spoken to, and rebuked ; if he give suffi- 
cient evidence of repentance, he must be forgiven ; because 
this is an evidence that the Lord hath pardoned him, and 
the offender is gained. " If thy brother trespass against 
thee," says Christ, " seven times in a day, and seven times 
in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent ; thou shalt 
forgive him." And when Peter put the question : "If my 
brother trespass against me, how often shall I forgive him ? 
till seven times ?" Christ replies, " I say not unto thee till 
seven times ; but till seventy times seven." This is that 
charity that covers a multitude of sins. It is to no pur- 
pose here to say, that our Lord speaks of personal offenses ; 
for this rather augments the force of the argument. Every 



248 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

personal offense taken on just grounds, is in the offender 
a breach, of the divine law, and, therefore, a sin against 
God. The law of God commands us to love our neighbor 
as ourselves ; and the law of Christ is, whatsoever ye would 
that men should do to you, do ye the same to them. Per- 
sonal offenses are, therefore, sins against God, and our 
brother too. But if the brother be impenitent ; a doubt 
about the sincerity of his profession and reality of his 
religion rises still higher ; and, therefore, the offended 
brother must take two or three witnesses ; and, if he then 
repent, he is gained, and the offended party ought to be 
satisfied. But if, after all this, he remain hardened and 
impenitent in his sin, the scandal must be brought before 
the Church. If he will not hear the Church, but still 
justify himself in his sin, this is inconsistent with visible 
saintship, or any appearance of real grace, as far as the 
Church can judge by the rule of Christ given in such cases. 
He can not be born of God ; for he that thus sinneth is 
of the devil ; and, therefore, must be cast out, or declared 
to belong to the world which lieth in wickedness. But if 
he do repent, this is an evidence, that, though fallen, the 
Lord hath raised him up, restored him to rejDentance, and 
forgiven his sin. And it will be impossible for true Chris- 
tians, after they have sufficient evidence that God hath 
pardoned him, to hesitate a moment about forgiving him 
too ; or, in other words, acknowledging, loving, and treating 
him as a brother in Christ. Public confessions, then, 
before the Church, are not confessions to the Church ; but 
to God before the Church. It is not the law of the Church 
which the offender hath violated; but the law of Christ, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 249 

the Head and King of the Church. It is not the Church 
that can pardon sin, but the Lord himself. The confession 
is, therefore, not to men, but to God. " Against thee, thee 
only, have I sinned," says the Psalmist ; that is, it is thy 
law which I have broken ; at the same time, he makes 
this confession before the Church ; and his penitential tears 
mingle with the Church's praise to this day. The design of 
such public confessions, is not to make any atonement or 
satisfaction, in a strict sense, to the Church ; but only to 
satisfy the minds of Cod's people, about the person's 
gracious standing with God, or reconciliation to him. The 
controversy is not properly between the Church and the 
offending brother, but between God and him ; it is not her 
own honor, but God's, that the Church attempts to vin- 
dicate : she pleads the cause of her King, and contends for 
him. This serves to show the great need for caution in 
passing censures ; especially the highest sentence. Great 
heed should be taken, that the matter of the offense be 
truly sinful : for sometimes Christians are scandalized and 
grievously offended with that which is no offense against 
God ; but a great duty. This was evidently the case with 
those who contended with, and blamed the Apostle Peter, 
because he went in to men uncircumcised, and did eat with 
them ; but this was his duty. And when he had explained 
the vision which he had, and the angel's message to the 
Centurion, ordering him to send for Peter, the offense was 
removed. It was, no doubt, the case with some of God's 
people, at the time Luther and others began the Eeforma- 
tion. It would be too harsh to say, there were no true 

Christians in the Church of Eome at that time ; and some 
21 



250 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

of them, judging without knowledge, might imagine that 
Luther was going quite wrong, and so take offense at his 
conduct. But the offense would immediately cease on their 
being properly enlightened. Indeed, in things indifferent, 
which may be either done or let alone without sin, but at 
which weak Christians would take offense, it is the indis- 
pensable duty of the stronger to bear the burdens of the 
weaker ; this was the noble resolution of the Apostle Paul : 
" If eating flesh will offend my brother," says he, "I will 
not eat flesh till I die." On the whole, it appears, that it 
is no light matter to give scandal or offense to a Christian 
brother or the Church of God, " Offenses must needs come," 
says Christ, " but woe to the man by whom the offense 
cometh ; it were better for him that a mill-stone were 
hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that 
he should offend one of these little ones." And Christians 
should be extremely cautious in taking offense, and be sure 
never to do so without cause. Many times ecclesiastical 
judicatories, in attempting to purge scandals, have, by un- 
charitable, passionate, and un scriptural procedure, given 
greater scandal and offense, than the one which they meant 
to remove. And we fear the doctrine above animadverted 
on, that ecclesiastical judicatories have no concern with the 
person's state before God, is only a fig-leaf covering to some 
fearful abuses of that kind. 

On the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Chapters, which 
treat of a Future State, we deem it unnecessary to add any 
remarks, beside what have been advanced against the doc- 
trine of universal salvation. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 251 



THOUGHTS ON THE INSPIRATION OF THE 
HOLT SCRIPTURES. 

Doctor Doddridge,, in a small treatise printed along 
with his Exposition of the New Testament, has distinguished 
Inspiration "into three kinds, viz : that of Superintendency, 
Elevation, and Suggestion. We shall say nothing about 
this distinction, but allow every reader to judge for himself. 
The best idea of the subject may, doubtless, be obtained 
from the Scriptures. "We may acquire it from the following 
texts: John xiv, 26, " But the Comforter, which is the Holy 
Ghost," says Christ to his disciples, " whom the Eather will 
send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring 
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said 
unto you." John xvi, 13 : " Howbeit, when he, the spirit 
of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all truth : for 
he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall 
hear, shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. 
He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall 
show it unto you." In these texts we may notice, Eirst, 
the designation given to the Holy Ghost : he is called the 
Spirit of Truth ; intimating that nothing but God's truth 



252 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

could or would be communicated by him. Secondly, his 
office. First, lie shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever 
he shall hear, that shall he speak. He shall glorify me, 
for he shall receive si mine, and shall show it unto you ; 
that is, as if Christ had said, you may rest assured, that 
whatsoever he shall tell you, is divine truth ; it is my mind, 
and you may publish it as such. Secondly ; he shall 
guide you into all divine truth, necessary to be known ; he 
shall teach you all things. Thirdly ; this shall extend to 
things past, and to things to come ; for he shall bring all 
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have spoken unto 
you, and he shall show you things to come. Thus the 
Spirit would qualify them to write the history of Christ's 
life, of what he had said, and done, and suffered, and the 
manner in which he conducted himself; and, also, he would 
be in them as the spirit of prophecy, enabling them to 
foretell future events. Christ himself was filled with a 
superabundant measure of the Holy Spirit. The Father 
gave not the Spirit unto him by measure ; it pleased the 
Father that in him all fullness should dwell ; the fullness of 
the Godhead dwelt in him bodily. The eternal Father 
says, Isaiah xlii, 1 : "I have put my Spirit upon him, and 
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." And 
Isaiah lxi, 1, Christ is represented as saying : " The Spirit of 
the Lord Gbd is upon me, because he hath anointed me 
to preach glad tidings to the poor," etc. ; which prophecy 
Christ expressly applies unto himself, Luke iv, 16-21, * At 
Nazareth, he entered into the Synagogue, and there was 
delivered to him the book of Isaias ; and when he had 
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 253 

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me," etc. ; and he said, 
" this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears," etc. The 
texts are almost innumerable, which testify, that the apos- 
tles, and other holy men, were filled with the same spirit 
which was given to Christ, and which he promised to them. 
Mark xiii, 11, " It is not ye that speak," says Christ, " but 
the Holy Ghost," John xx, 22, " He breathed on them, 
and said, receive ye the Holy Ghost," Acts i, 8, he said, 
" Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon 
you." Acts ii, 4, " They were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit 
gave them utterance." But the passages to this purpose 
are too many to be transcribed. 

Again, it is certain, that the Lord Jesus Christ and his 
apostles affirm, in the fullest manner, that holy men under 
the old Testament spoke as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost. Christ attests this — Mark xii, 36 — ''Tor David 
himself said by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, 
Sit thou on my right hand," etc., which is quoted from the 
11.0th Psalm. Peter attests it — 2 Peter i, 19, 21 — " We 
have also a more sure word of prophecy, etc., knowing this, 
first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private 
interpretation ; for the prophecy came not in old time by the 
will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost." And the apostle Paul says to the 
same purpose — 2 Tim. iii, 15, 16 — "From a child thou 
hast known the holy Scriptures, which are sufficient to make 
thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ 
Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and 
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and in- 



254 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

struction in righteousness, that the man of God may be per- 
fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The same 
thing is attested in many other passages. Acts xxviii, 25, 
" Well spake the Holy Ghost, by Isaias the prophet, unto 
our Fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, hearing ye 
shall hear, and shall not understand." Hebrews iii, 7, "As 
the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice," 
which is quoted from the 95th Psalm. Hebrews ix, 7, 8, 
" But into the second went the high priest alone, once a 
year, etc., the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into 
the holiest of all was not yet manifest," etc. Acts i, 16, 
" Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been 
fulfilled, which the Holy. Ghost, by the mouth of David, 
spake concerning Judas, etc., let his habitation be desolate, 
his bishopric let another take," which is quoted from the 
109th Psalm. It is affirmed, that John the Baptist, 
Zacharias his father, Elizabeth, Mary, and Simeon, were 
filled with the Holy Ghost. Yea, of Simeon it is said, " That 
it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should 
not taste of death, until he had seen the Lord's Christ. And 
he came by the spirit into the temple, and he took the child 
Jesus up in his arms, and blessed God and said, Lord, now 
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have 
seen thy salvation," etc. It is declared, that God spake 
with Moses face to face ; God says to him, " My presence 
shall go with you, and I will give you rest ; " and again, 
Numbers xi, 17, "I will come down, and talk with thee, and 
I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it 
on them, viz: the seventy elders." Philip says to Nathanael, 
" We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 255 

prophets did write," doubtless by the inspiration of God's 
Spirit ; and remarkable are the words spoken concerning 
Christ, when he discoursed with the two disciples going to 
Emniaus, " Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he ex- 
pounded to them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning 
himself." 

Now the only question that remains, is, do the predictions 
uttered by Christ and his apostles, the miracles which they 
performed, the doctrines which they taught, the laws and 
ordinances which they instituted and published, their holy 
and spotless lives, justify this representation of the matter ? 
Are these truly worthy of God, and such as could proceed 
from none but God ? Most certainly they are so ; and there- 
fore the conclusion is unavoidable, that the Scriptures of the 
Old and New Testament were given by the inspiration of the 
Spirit of God. "We say nothing, at present, of the doctrines, 
miracles, laws, the holy, humble, and spotless lives of Moses 
and the prophets, which, when thrown into the scale, add 
weight to the argument likewise. 

Indeed, the truths revealed in the Scriptures are such, as 
could never have entered the mind of man if they had not 
been conveyed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God ; 
such as, the account of creation and part of that of the flood ; 
the mystery of the Trinity of persons in the Godhead ; the 
manner of man's fall ; his redemption ; the covenant of grace ; 
the incarnation ; the suretyship ; the obedience and atoning 
sacrifice of the Son of God, the only Mediator between God 
and men ; the doctrine of regeneration ; of justification by 
faith in Christ, so as that God may be just and merciful in 
one and the same act ; life and immortality after death, and 



256 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

the resurrection. All these pour in their evidence to this 
truth, that God hath spoken to us in his Word. Every per- 
fection ascribed to God in the Scriptures, is most worthy of 
Him. The scheme of religion there delineated, is so bene- 
volent, pure, spiritual, and heavenly, both as to principles 
of faith, and practice, as could proceed from none but the 
Spirit of holiness. The tendency of the whole to subdue our 
lusts and passions, to debase the proud, and exalt and com- 
fort the humble and penitent, and, in a word, to raise our 
corrupt, depraved natures, to grace, holiness, virtue and 
felicity, manifestly discover its divine original. The majesty 
of the Word of God, its power over the conscience, its effi- 
cacy to transform the most wicked men, into the most 
amiable and useful of the human race, which it has done, 
in innumerable instances, and that even in our own time, 
declare, that never man spake as God's word speaks. But 
why enlarge on this subject ? The very sentences of Scrip- 
ture quoted above prove it. Did ever any heathen writers, 
the greatest of their philosophers, utter such words, or com- 
municate such ideas ? They are such as could never have 
entered into any mind uninspired. Who ever read in any 
the most sublime and polished heathen authors, such words 
as these : " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, etc. 
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine 
eyes have seen thy salvation, a light to lighten the Gentiles, 
and the glory of thy people Israel. Life and immortality 
are brought to light by the Gospel ; through the tender 
mercies of our God, the day-spring from on high hath visited 
us. We have redemption through his blood, even the for- 
giveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 257 

whom God hath set. forth to be a propitiation, through faith 
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission 
of sins, etc., that God might be just, and the justifier of him 
that believeth in Jesus. Who of God, is made unto us, 
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Who 
only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man 
can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see, to 
whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. For this cor- 
ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on 
immortality; and when this shall be so, then shall be 
brought to pass that saying, Death is swallowed up in 
victory ! Death ! where is thy sting ? grave ! where 
is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin, and the strength 
of sin is the law ; but thanks be to God, who giveth- us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now may the God 
of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood 
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good 
work, working in you, that which is well pleasing in his 
sight ; " and such like, with which the sacred writings 
abound. These are surprising words ! They are the words 
of the Holy Ghost ! They proclaim their divine original ! 
Let any one read the eighth chapter of the epistle to the 
Eomans, and indeed we may say every chapter almost of the 
Bible, with the comparison above mentioned in his eye, and 
he will be convinced, that never man spoke like God, or that 
no uninspired person could have conceived such ideas, or 
uttered such words. 

But, to remove every doubt on this subject, we may observe 
further, that none can deny, that it was, and is possible for 



258 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

G-od, to reveal his mind and will unto men. lie formed the 
spirit within us. and must surely know and understand his 
own work, and have an easy access to it. In him we live, 
and move, and have our being. We exist in the immensity 
of his presence. He is within us, without us, and all around 
us ; compasseth our path, knows our lying down, and rising 
up. Every secret thought is open to his view. He searcheth 
the heart, and trieth the reins of the children of men. There 
is one consideration of great weight in this argument ; but 
because it is common, it is little admired, though when 
deeply studied is most astonishing, viz : that one created 
spirit can reveal its thoughts unto another. Men are but very 
imperfect creatures, and yet can, with the greatest facility, 
communicate their mind and will to each other. But it is 
not their bodies or mere pieces of matter, that hold converse 
and communication together, but really their spirits or intel- 
ligent powers, through the organs of the body. Yea, man 
can make his will known to the inferior animals ; and it is 
certain, these animals can to one another. Has the great 
Spirit, the infinite Creator, thus, in a most marvelous man- 
ner opened a channel, and established a way of intelligence 
through the whole creation, and shall any deem it impossi- 
ble for him to reveal his mind to rational creatures ? most 
certainly this can not transcend his infinite wisdom, goodness, 
power and condescension. And it must be granted, that on 
supposition of his graciously intending to save men from the 
ruins of their apostasy, such a revelation was indispensably 
necessary ; and that therefore he would most certainly give 
it. Now the above supposition is that, which the Gospel 
proclaims to be a glorious reality ; and if so, a revelation of 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 259 

the plan was absolutely necessary. There appears to have 
been a strong sense of this necessity, and a vehement desire 
of obtaining the blessing, prevalent with some of the wisest 
of the ancient heathen philosophers, who were conscious of 
their groping in the dark. They were extremely anxious, 
that such a revelation might be given to the world ; and as 
an evidence of such a prevailing sense of its necessity, and 
ardent breathing after it, pretended revelations were sub- 
stituted in place of the true ; but the counterfeit supposes 
the genuine coin. And the universal practice of the heathen 
in consulting their oracles, was nature pointing to this great 
object. 

That God has actually given such a revelation of his mind 
and will to men, is an unquestionable fact — because the 
Scriptures contain many predictions of future events, fore- 
told many hundred years before their accomplishment, and 
which have been literally fulfilled, and are still fulfilling ; 
such as the rise and downfall of the four great monarchies 
in the East ; the appearance, miracles, and sufferings of the 
Messiah ; the destruction of Jerusalem ; the dispersion and 
misery of the Jews, and conversion of the Gentiles ; the suc- 
cess and spreading of the Gospel ; the rise, and downfall of 
antichrist, etc. We are the witnesses of the accomplishment 
of these prophecies ; and it is incontestable, that they could 
never have been foretold, but by supernatural revelation. 
God has revealed his mind to men in various ways — he seems 
to have conversed visibly and audibly with the patriarchs. 
He spoke to men by the ministry of angels. He discovered 
his purposes to Joseph and others by dreams ; by visions to 
Ezekiel, and to Peter, when he saw the great sheet descend- 



260 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

ing from heaven, containing all manner of beasts and creep- 
ing things, and heard a voice, saying, " Eise, Peter, slay and 
eat." He spake by Urim and Thummim. But chiefly and 
most commonly, by inspiring holy men with his own Spirit, 
which might be easily shown to be, on many accounts, the 
fittest and best adapted, to gain the ends proposed by infinite 
wisdom. At last the eternal Logos was made flesh, and 
dwelt among men. The Son of God assumed the nature, 
and performed the service of a man. And when he ascended 
from this world to take possession of his glory, he renewed 
the gift of inspiration by his Spirit to the Church, by grant- 
ing it to his apostles, as has been made appear in the fore- 
cited texts. The Divine Spirit was given to them, to teach 
them all things, to guide them into all truth, and also to 
assist their memories in relating what was past, or to bring 
all things to their remembrance, as well as to show them 
things to come. Thus they were fortified against error on 
every hand, both in the historical, doctrinal, prophetical and 
mandatory parts of their office. 

The following truths may tend further to illustrate the 
credibility of the doctrine of inspiration : First, as it was 
by the Spirit of God moving on the face of the deep, that 
this world was formed into order and consistence ; so the 
same Spirit seems to be the natural and moral agent in the 
preservation and government of the world. Elihu says, 
" There is a Spirit in man, and the inspiration of the 
Almighty giveth him understanding." — Job xxxii, 8. " This 
Spirit teacheth man more than the beasts of the field, and 
maketh him wiser than the fowls of heaven." — xxxv. And 
Isaias saith of the husbandman, " His God doth instruct him 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 261 

to discretion, and doth teach him ; bread corn is bruised, 
etc. This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts, who is 
wonderful in counsel and excellent in working." — Isaiah 
xxviii. Bezaleel and Aholiab were inspired with wisdom in 
the arts of their profession. The Spirit of the Lord came 
upon Sampson, as the spirit of heroism and bravery. David 
says, " He teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to 
fight." Solomon had the Spirit of God as the author of 
political wisdom. And indeed, whatever of true wisdom or 
good order, remains among men in this world, doubtless the 
Spirit of God is the author of it ; and this is no more than 
to maintain, that He who created the world, also sustains 
and governs it. And there is no question, but the great 
discoveries made to men in the science of government, natu- 
ral philosophy, and the useful arts, proceed from the same 
source. But it is only carrying the idea a little higher, to 
suppose, that God has, by the inspiration of his Spirit, made 
a supernatural revelation of heavenly things to man. 

Secondly. That other spiritual beings have access to the 
minds of men, and may communicate hints of things, of 
which men would otherwise have no knowledge, seems evi- 
dent from fact and experience. That the most of men have 
had premonitions and warnings, in dreams, of future events, 
of which otherwise they could have had no knowledge, is 
undeniable. Now supposing this to proceed from angels, 
good or bad, the argument is, a fortiori, or more strong, 
when applied to the Spirit of God. If created spirits, 
whether good or bad, may convey intelligence to men, much 
more may the infinite, eternal, and uncreated Spirit of God. 
And that a superior being, even in the rank of creatures, 



262 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

may do so, can not well be doubted, when we see that the 
inferior creatures can convey intelligence to us of their 
wants, and of other things. 

Thirdly. It is a fact incontrovertible, that even a created 
spirit may so unite himself with the spirit of a man, as to 
obtain the absolute command of his mind, and government 
of his bodily members ; so that the man shall think, speak, 
and act under the influence of such a spirit. This was evi- 
dently the case of the possessed in the time of Christ. When 
Legion called out, " What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou 
Son of God, Most High ?" it was the man's mouth and tongue 
that uttered these words, and his mind no doubt conceived 
the ideas; and perhaps the most of us have seen such 
instances, wherein it was clear, that some preternatural 
power had the command of the person. And Christians will, 
no doubt on this occasion, recollect their being at times 
perplexed, utterly against their wills, with blasphemous 
thoughts, and horrible apprehensions of God, which have 
been tossed like fiery darts into their minds ; which must be 
ascribed to Satan, and are doubtless the very things which 
the Apostle calls the fiery darts of the wicked one. ISTow, if 
a created spirit, whether good or bad, may have such access 
to our minds, is it not easy to conceive, that the infinitely 
holy, and good Spirit of God, may have it, and so unite him- 
self with the spirit of a man, that the man shall think, 
speak, and act under his influence ? 

Fourthly. This union of the Spirit of God with the souls 
of Christians, is a doctrine clearly taught in the Scriptures, 
and confirmed from fact and experience. But on this sub- 
ject we have spoken already, when treating of regeneration. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 263 

In the work of conviction on the sinner's mind, it is the 
Spirit who is at work. He convinces of sin. When the 
man is enlightened in the knowledge of Christ, and his heart 
captivated by his glory and grace, this Divine light and love 
proceeds from the operations of the Spirit of God on the 
mind. The agency of the Spirit of God is concealed in the 
agency of the man's own mind ; the believer is sensible of 
nothing but of his own perceptions and volitions — and yet he 
might as easily create a new world, as command these per- 
ceptions and volitions, without the power and influence of 
the Spirit of God. " We are not sufficient of ourselves," 
says Paul, " to think anything as of ourselves." " Without 
me," says Christ, "ye can do nothing." And are not all true 
Christians more or less sensible, of their being sometimes 
overwhelmed with darkness, the power of spiritual deadness 
and weakness ? Christ on this subject, speaking, to the 
woman of Samaria, says : " If thou knewest the gift of God," 
etc., "thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have 
given thee living water," etc., " and the water that I shall 
give, shall be in you as a well of living water, springing up 
to everlasting life." — John iv. And again, to explain his 
meaning, he says, John vii, 38, 39 ; "He that believeth on 
me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his heart shall flow 
rivers of living water, this spake he of the Spirit, which they 
that believe on him, should receive." And according to this 
doctrine, the apostle prays : " Now may the God of peace," 
etc., "make you perfect in every good work, to do his will, 
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight." 
And again, "Work out the work of your own salvation, for 
it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his 



264 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

good pleasure." This is the experience of all his saints. 
But it is only raising the idea somewhat higher, to suppose 
holy men inspired by the same Spirit, to give to the world a 
supernatural revelation of the mind and will of God. 

Fifthly. It is a fact sufficiently attested and incontro- 
vertibly established, if we should regard only human testi- 
mony in the case, that the apostle spoke various languages, 
wrought miracles, endured sufferings, and accomplished 
astonishing labors, by the aiding, supporting, and comfort- 
ing power of God's Spirit. And let any one read the achieve- 
ments of faith, recorded in the eleventh to the Hebrews, 
pause a moment and ask, what spirit could enable men to do 
and suffer things, so far above the power of the human mind ? 
and he will be convinced, that such men were under a Divine 
influence, and supported by a power more than human. But 
let us not suppose that this was peculiar to ancient times. 
The Popish persecutions in Britain and elsewhere more early, 
and the late persecutions in North Britain, during the 
reigns of the last branches of the Stuart family, furnish 
many glorious instances of the same heroism and fortitude 
of faith. But, if the Spirit of God could thus inspire men 
with resolution to suffer, and even to rejoice in their suffer- 
ings, there can be no doubt, that he might also inspire them 
to reveal Divine truth ; and some of these holy sufferers, in 
the last century, were undeniably inspired, to predict some 
future events ; some of them expressly announced the rejec- 
tion of the then reigning family from the throne of Britain, 
long before it happened, and several other things, which 
have come to pass. 

Finally, it is manifest, that the apostles must have been 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 265 

absolutely certain of the truths and facts which they an- 
nounced to the world. Of the facts they were eye-witnesses ; 
and they must have been as certain of the sublime truths 
and predictions which they uttered ; for so many men would 
never have conspired to bring temporal ruin and destruction 
on themselves, merely to propagate that, of which they were 
not certain, and of the success of which, they had so very 
small a prospect. But it is evident, that they could never 
have even thought of such truths, as they published and 
boldly preached; much less have been absolutely certain 
of them, if they had not been divinely inspired. But cer- 
tain they were: yea, absolutely certain. " We have seen 
and do testify," said they, " that God sent his Son to be the 
Saviour of the world ; every spirit that confesseth not, that 
Jesus is come in the flesh, is not of God ; he that knoweth 
God heareth us ; he that knoweth not God, heareth not us ; 
hereby know we the Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 
They freely and cheerfully risked their lives, and lost them 
in the defense of the truth ; and the prospect of this was con- 
tinually before them, for they were sure, from the testimony 
of their divine Master, that this was a part of the plan of 
Providence respecting them ; yet they were not in the least 
intimidated. And the event proves, that they were not mis- 
taken ; for the truths which they taught, have changed the 
face of affairs over the whole world ; and the doctrines of 
these plain, undesigning men, govern the world to this day ; 
not only the Christian world, but really their influence ex- 
tends, in no small degree, to the regions of the earth yet 
under Mahometan and heathen superstition, and will do so, 

more and more, unto the end of time. 
22 



266 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

On the whole, how awfully important must the doctrines 
and duties of divine revelation be ! Our souls justly trem- 
ble on the review. The infinite and omnipotent God, the 
Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of time and eternity, 
the Grod who will dispose of all his creatures in a most 
righteous and just manner at last, speaks to us in his Word. 
He sent his holy prophets to reveal his mind ; sent his only 
begotten Son, hath sent his Holy Spirit to manifest his will 
to men. He has confirmed this revelation by miracles, by 
prophecies, by turning this world upside down, by planting 
and plucking up kingdoms and empires to fulfill these proph- 
ecies. By the ministry of angels, and expulsion of devils, 
by signs or miracles in the sun, the seas, the rocks, on all 
creatures and in all elements, by raising the dead to life, by 
the blood of his Son, his resurrection from the dead, by the 
blood of thousands and ten thousands of his holy martyrs 
who have endured sufferings and deaths the most shocking 
to humanity, he has confirmed the doctrines of the Bible. 
And the last grand assize, the final judgment, is reserved to 
be the concluding proof of its truth. And all these great 
events are accomplished in a godlike manner, with infinite 
ease and certainty, and without being much noticed by car- 
nal men, though these men are used often as subordinate 
agents in his hand; he says of Cyrus, "He shall fulfill all 
my will, and I have girded him, though he hath not known 
me." 

And when we see such great and marvelous things crowded 
in upon the narrow stage of this present life, who can help 
concluding, that the present life of man is infinitely import- 
ant, and must be eternally decisive of his character and 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 267 

future state ? And who can help weeping over the folly, 
impiety, and horrible wickedness of such men, as despise, and 
mock, and pervert or wrest the Scriptures, neglect so great a 
salvation, and reject the things which belong to their peace, 
until they be eternally hid from their eyes ! ! ! How happy 
are those, who have been subdued to the obedience of faith, 
who firmly believe, supremely love, and walk in God's Word ! 
It sanctifies them in life, and will support them in death, 
and glorify them to all eternity. And how careful should 
we all be, to know the joyful sound of the Gospel, and the 
great things of the divine law, and improve them by faith 
and holiness to our everlasting salvation !° 

° Since the brief sketch, of the argument for the authenticity of the 
Holy Scriptures, contained in the first chapter of this treatise, was 
written, the writer has seen and partly perused Dr. Kennicott's new 
edition of the Hebrew Bible. The Doctor, to his immortal honor, and 
what is infinitely better, to the glory of God, has taken much pains. 
After sending a learned gentleman over Europe, to search for and 
compare ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, he obtained six 
hundred and ninety-four manuscripts and printed copies ; all of 
which, he, assisted by some other learned gentlemen, perused and 
compared with the utmost attention and diligence ; and was employed 
in this work more than twenty years : the Jews in London wrote a 
recommendatory letter to their brethren abroad to assist him in the 
work. The king of Great Britain, of Denmark, and other princes 
and learned men of various nations aided the grand design. The 
result of this astonishing scrutiny, confirms our argument laid be- 
fore the public. Many small variations in the reading he has indeed 
discovered, all of which he has with incredible labor noted, even to 
such minutiae, as a word or letter being written in a large capital 
form, or otherwise ; a word adorned, or not adorned. Very many of 
the variations take place in the four quiescent letters of the Hebrew 



268 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

language being omitted, or transcribed, which letters, though writ- 
ten, yet with the use of the vowel points, in some positions are not 
pronounced. He has also given us the readings of the Samaritan 
Pentateuch differing from the Hebrew books ; which are many, and 
some of them consequential. There are indeed various readings in 
the Hebrew text, of greater importance than those which have been 
hinted above, and this is no more than what might have been ex- 
pected, and was in a manner unavoidable through the imperfection 
inseparable from human nature, especially before the invention of 
printing ; unless we could suppose every person, who undertook to 
transcribe the Bible, to have been infallibly inspired, and guided ; 
to suppose which, would be superstitious and absurd, a miracle 
greater than any recorded in the Bible, and a miracle too without 
a sufficient reason. Non dignus vindice nodus. And such a suppo- 
sition destroys the necessity of transcribing, as such inspired men 
would have been qualified to write new canonical books. But, as 
the Doctor remarks, these variations do not affect the general strain 
of doctrine taught in the Scriptures, because the great essential doc- 
trines and duties thereof, are not taught systematically, one chapter 
containing one head, another a second, and another a third, and so 
on : but are really interspersed through the whole, either more ex- 
pressly or implicitly. And supposing the sense to be somewhat dark 
and maimed in one place, the same truth or duty may be clearly 
collected from another. Variations, lapsu calami, may generally be 
distinguished from such as would be made with design, for if any 
person were to form a design of altering the great doctrines and pre- 
cepts of Revelation, he behooved to go through every book, yea almost 
every chapter of most of the books. The Doctor indeed remarks, 
there is some reason to believe, that the Jews, through their enmity 
against Christ, have ventured to transpose some words, in such pro- 
phecies as tormented them most, in their arguments with the 
Christians: as in Isaiah liii, " He made his grave with the wicked, 
and with the rich in his death :" he thinks it was originally written, 
" He made his grave with the rich, and with the wicked in his 
death/' 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 269 

Several other things of equal importance, the Doctor has noticed, 
particularly some chronological and historical variations ; and ex- 
presses a high regard for the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the ancient 
Greek version, as being more accurate in several such instances, 
than our Hebrew books. We may adopt the adage, on this occasion, 
magna est Veritas et prevalebit. The great doctrines of Christianity 
stand the scrutiny, such as, the doctrine of the Trinity, of the Re- 
deemer's atonement, justification by faith in his blood, etc. And it 
must afford joy to every true Christian, to find, that the deistical 
tribe of Socinians have received a check, from the Doctor's scrutiny, 
which, we think, might teach them to lower their pride and presump- 
tion. On the doctrine of the Trinity, he remarks, that when the 
plural noun Elohim, is applied to the false gods of the Heathen, it is 
joined with a plural verb. But when the samo plural nominative 
is applied to Jehovah, the true God, it is joined with a singular verb, 
to point out a plurality in unity : and that this is universally the 
case, through the whole Bible, except in three places ; and he makes 
it appear, that in these three places the text is mis-transcribed, 
because two of them stand in the usual form, in the Samaritan Pen- 
tateuch, and the other is corrected in another text in our own He- 
brew Bible, where the same words are recited, only the verb is in 
the singular number, as it ought to be, and originally was in the 
other place. In a dissertation on the reason of Abel's sacrifice being 
accepted, and Cain's rejected, he shows, that Cain offered only the 
fruits of the ground : but Abel offered the fruits of the ground, and 
the firstlings of his flock, and the fat, or a sanguinary sacrifice; in 
this manner confessing himself guilty before God, and expressing 
his reliance on the great atoning sacrifice of Christ, prefigured in 
the one which he offered. Thus, by faith, Abel offered a more ac 
ceptable sacrifice than Cain.* To peruse this great work, is a most 
pleasing and edifying study: and we hope great good will redound 
to the Church of God from the Doctor's labors. It is clear, that his 
discoveries are much in favor of truth. And the more ancient his 

°This dissertation is not printed with the Bible. 



270 EXPOSITION AXD DEFENSE OF THE 

manuscripts were, still were the quotations of the Evangelists, and 
the apostles, from the Old Testament, the more fully justified. It is 
an evidence of God's providential care of the holy Scriptures, that a 
man of his ability and learning, was excited to take such pains, and 
endure such labor, to ascertain their true reading. And finally, 
here we may affirm, that if any person were to collect and compare, 
as many different copies of any ancient book, suppose of Cicero or 
Homer, he would find probably more, and greater variations, and 
yet nobody doubts, but we have the true genuine books of these 
authors. 

It may not be improper to subjoin one remark here, that the evi- 
dence of the truth and authenticity of the holy Scriptures is infi- 
nitely superior to the evidence of any human history. Xot to 
mention the number and characters of the witnesses, the intrinsic 
excellence of the doctrines and morals, their confirmation by mira- 
cles and prophecy, the unity of design throughout the whole ; let us 
only attend to one thing. The religious rites and observances 
therein instituted and recorded, are those which the church must 
daily practice ; exevy baptized person, and every father of a family 
who obtains baptism to his children, every communicant at the 
Lord's table, sees with his eyes and handles with his hands, the 
proofs and documents of its truth. The Bible tells us that these 
sacraments were instituted by Christ, our immediate parents prac- 
ticed them, their immediate parents did the same, and theirs again 
the same, an i so on up to the time of Christ, when they were first 
instituted: and none can point out any period when they were intro- 
duced, or when it was possible to introduce them, until we go up to 
the time of Christ, their instituter ; and the same remark may be 
made concerning the sanctification of the first-day Sabbath. And 
thus, by a marvelous contrivance of infinite wisdom, it is so fixed, 
that the quotidian transactions of church-members are practical 
proofs of the truth of the Gospel, our bodily senses are daily wit- 
nesses of it, and continued facts prove it. The Jews, as hath been 
formerly remarked, are living witnesses of the truth both of the Old 
and New Testament : of the Old. as thev firmlv believe the doctrines, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 271 

and practice the rights thereof; of the New, not only as their disper- 
sion and misery is a fulfillment of its prophecies, but also as they 
do not pretend to deny the principal facts therein recorded, but only 
disguise and misrepresent them. And the Jews are witnesses of the 
truth of Christianity, not from love to it, and therefore not from 
collusion, or with a design to deceive. Their testimony is evidence 
from an enemy. Strange ! that the truth should be doubted, when 
thus attested by friends and foes. 

Kennicott's Hebrew Bible is deposited in the Library of the City 
of Philadelphia, an honor to the present age, that will survive the 
pride of princes, and fame of wars and victories. 



272 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 



CONCLUSION. 



Now, dearly beloved brethren in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
having exhibited to your view, the great and important doc- 
trines of the Gospel of Christ, how can we conclude more 
properly than by addressing to you the following exhorta- 
tions ? We beseech and exhort our brethren in the ministry, 
to take heed to themselves, to their doctrine, their spirit, 
their life, and conversation. Preach Christ crucified ; point 
him out as the substance of divine revelation, the center in 
which all its lines meet ; set forth the glory of the divine 
character as revealed in him ; show the relation in which the 
prophecies, the histories, the types, the miracles, the prom- 
ises, the ordinances of worship, the precepts of moral duty, 
and the providences of God, stand to him. We may be sure 
it is our glory and felicity to know, that God is in Christ, 
reconciling the world to himself, not imputing unto men 
their trespasses. The doctrine, of Christ's mediatorial per- 
son, his mediatorial state, and mediatorial offices, characters, 
and relations, justification by faith in his blood, regeneration 
by his Spirit, and submission to all his laws and institutions 
is the very life of the Church. God's Spirit will never accom 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 273 

pany, nor will lie bless any other doctrine, to the conversion 
of sinners, or nourishing the divine life in true believers. 
Beware of a carnal, worldly, proud spirit. Such a spirit 
will consume and lay waste true religion ; and under the 
power of such a spirit, even good men are at times too apt 
to fall, through their unavoidable connection with this world. 
Beware of indolence and slothfulness, in the work of God. 
Christ says, " Occupy until I come." Did the Eedeemer 
give his blood for the salvation of men, and shall we account 
it much, to expend a little sweat and labor for that grand pur- 
pose ? Give not way to discouragements ; live a life of faith 
and prayer ; cleave to your divine Master, and he will sup- 
port you. " Christ taught a divine parable, that men should 
always pray and not faint." The cause in which you are 
engaged, is the greatest and best of causes, and will be finally 
successful. " Ye are workers together with God, and God 
will work, and none shall let it. Take heed to yourselves, 
and to the whole flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath 
made you overseers, to feed, and rule the Church of God, 
which he hath purchased with his own blood." Avoid 
equally, the extreme of laxness, and rigor, in discipline; 
take every opportunity of saying, and doing something for 
Christ. " Gird up the loins of your mind ; watch, and be 
sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that shall be 
brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Be 
clothed with humility ; put on meekness, humbleness of mind, 
patience, long-suffering ; be good examples to the believers, 
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in 
purity. Endure hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ." 

To sum up the whole, search the Scriptures daily : give God's 
23 



274 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

"Word the chief place in your studies, always a dwelling in 
your hearts, and let it drop from your lips like the honey- 
comb. Ministers should frequently read, and deeply study, 
Paul's epistles to Timothy and Titus. " Lay not a dispro- 
portionate stress on sound doctrine, to the neglect of a holy 
life ; nor on a holy practice, to the neglect of sound doctrine ; 
they are both pillars of the same arch, and the one cannot 
stand without bearing on the other. An unsound, unholy 
ministry, is like salt that has lost its savor ; and, as Christ 
says, "Is fit for nothing, neither for the land, nor even for 
the dunghill." 

To the Churches immediately connected with us, and to 
all the Churches of Christ, we say: Dear brethren, esteem 
and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Set a high value on his 
precious Word and Gospel. Be supremely grateful to God, 
for his mercy, in calling you to the fellowship of his Son, 
Jesus Christ. What a blessing to the world is the Gospel 
of Christ ! What a privilege to enjoy a complete system of 
Gospel institutions ! It is a mercy which can never be 
highly enough prized. The despised Gospel has been of infi- 
nitely greater service to the world, than all the philosophy 
of the nations. Wherever it is cordially embraced, it brings 
all good things in its train ! Godliness has the promise of 
the life that now is, and of that which is to come. The 
Xew Testament Church enjoys the Gospel dispensation in its 
most perfect form. Under the Mosaic Economy the revela- 
tion of grace, through Jesus Christ, was more obscure. That 
dispensation is emphatically called the law; " The law was 
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ/ ' 
Much terror, and much of the spirit of bondage and fear, 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 275 

attended that dispensation. The law was given at Mount 
Sinai, with terrible majesty. God descended on the top of 
the mount ; the mount was covered with a dark cloud, which 
threw out all around bickering flames ! God dwelt in, and 
uttered his voice from, the thick darkness ! Lightnings 
flashed ! Thunders roared ! The trumpet sounded louder 
and louder ! The mountain shook ! The people trembled ! 
And so great was the terror, that Moses said, I exceedingly 
fear and quake ! There was evidently here an amazing 
exhibition of the broken covenant, the covenant of works, in 
its terrors and threatenings ; which might also be providen- 
tially pointed forth, by Moses, in haste, breaking the stony 
tables of the law. The design of all which was, to show the 
necessity of a Mediator between an offended God and offend- 
ing creatures. And we see this design was answered, for 
the people entreated that the Word should not be spoken to 
them any more ; for they could not endure that which was 
commanded ; they begged that Jehovah would speak to Mo- 
ses, and Moses to them; and accordingly Moses was ap- 
pointed the typical Mediator. The apostle (Heb. 12), 
remarks the difference of the New Testament dispensation, 
" Ye are not come to the mount that might be touched, and 
that burned with fire, etc., but ye are come to Mount Zion, 
etc., to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
blood of sprinkling," etc. And God, under this dispensa- 
tion, instead of writing the law on tables of stone, promises 
to write it on fleshly tables of the heart. See Heb. viii. 

We beseech our dear brethren, who are immediately con- 
nected with us, to suffer the word of exhortation ! We have, 
in the foregoing pages, as God enabled, illustrated and 



276 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

vindicated the doctrines and duties of the Holy Bible, and our 
Confession of Faith. Are you still disposed to suspect our 
adherence to these ? You have been tempted and urged to 
do so with much earnestness. But do not yield to Satan's 
temptations. The means that have been used, and the pains 
taken to decoy you, bear every mark of their proceeding from 
a bad source, though not perceived by the immediate agents, 
nor perhaps by you. But good men have often fallen into 
Satan's snare, and been unnaturally employed in his service 
to injure the cause of God. A gentleman, an utter stranger 
to the state of our Churches here, the moment that he landed 
on the American shore, was stimulated to raise the outcry 
against us, and blow the coal of strife and contention between 
brethren ; the indirect, evasive and double dealings that 
were first practiced to prevent our progress in the good work 
of healing the breaches of Zion, and the violent measures 
pursued afterward — criticisms without candor, accusations 
without truth, the abuse of friendship, of gentleness, lenity, 
and forbearance, and perversion of words, all indicate a 
spirit in this business, that is not of God ; and this we have 
borne with a degree of patience, which some have been 
tempted to construe into pusillanimity, or an inability to 
defend ourselves. But we feared God. It is better to bear 
Shimei's cursing, than to retort it. We are all in this land 
comparatively strangers, and it appeared to us, to be an 
odious work in the sight of God and man, to commence a 
war against each other, that would only make those rejoice, 
who wish the destruction of both. 

But all this dishonor to God, and injury to the cause of 
religion, has been done under the pretext of contending for the 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 277 

truth. Examine well what truth we have dropped or denied. 
But it is said, we have relinquished the Secession-testimony. 
This assertion is not judicious. If by the Secession-testimony 
be meant, the whole doctrine of the Bible, as explained in 
the Confession of Faith, we firmly adhere to it. If by that 
testimony be meant, the application of the doctrines of the 
Bible and Confession, to the circumstances of the Church in 
Scotland, you will easily see that it is our duty to apply 
them properly here, or to the circumstances of the Church 
in America. This is what we have sincerely, though im- 
perfectly, studied to do. 

If you please to call the foregoing sheets, a testimony, we 
have no objection, and will not dispute about words ; but it 
would be more proper to consider them, as an application of 
the testimony of Jesus, unto the circumstances in which Pro- 
vidence has placed us. We beseech you, to shun, on the 
one hand, lukewarmness in the cause of God, and to avoid, 
on the other, pharisaical pride and ostentation in your reli- 
gious profession. Eemember, a sound about a testimony will 
not save your souls. 

You may talk loudly about that all your days, and under 
that pretext Satan may persuade you, and your deceitful 
hearts deceive you so far as to think, that you are very emi- 
nent Christians ; the only people of God on earth ; and so 
you may perish eternally. But examine well, what are you 
in heart more than others ? are you more holy, more hum- 
ble, more mortified to sin and the world, more spiritual, 
heavenly, zealous for God, gentle, patient, affectionate and 
forbearing, than others ? Are you severe on yourselves, but 
candid toward others ? Have you that charity which will 



278 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OE THE 

not indulge one sin in yourselves, but will cover a multitude 
in others ? What do ye do for G-od, or for the promotion of 
the kingdom of Christ in the world, more than others ? Is 
the G-ospel esteemed much by you ? Do you teach it daily to 
your children ? Is family religion much cultivated ? Are 
the Lord's public ordinances regularly attended, his ministers 
decently supported, esteemed, and loved for their works' sake ? 
Do you maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, 
or are you contentious, hateful, and hating one another ? It 
is not saying, but doing ; it is not hearing the law and the 
testimony, but practicing it, that G-od regards. Dear breth- 
ren, we are afraid of you, lest, as Satan beguiled Eve, so 
you may be deceived through his subtleties and devices. It 
is an easy matter to adopt a system of principles (and where 
a religious education has been previously enjoyed, they may 
be found principles too) publish them to the world, and plume 
ourselves, as if on this account we were the most eminent 
Christians and faithful witnesses for G-od in the world. This 
is not one of the most difficult duties of the Christian reli- 
gion. We mean not by this remark, to diminish the value 
and importance of being valiant for the truth upon the earth, 
but to prevent your placing an undue confidence, and laying 
a disproportionate stress on it. Adorn the doctrine of God 
your Saviour with every Christian grace and virtue ; among 
which, charity, brotherly-love, peace, humility, and candor, 
possess a high rank. You can not but be sensible, that a 
dependence on a foreign judicature for a supply of ministers 
must be very precarious, unproductive, and attended with 
much expense, and other disagreeable consequences. We 
hoped, by the late coalition of parties, between whom every 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 279 

real cause of contention was, by God's providence, removed, 
to have had it more in our power to raise and educate can- 
didates for the ministry among ourselves ; "but our dissent- 
ing brethren have greatly baffled this good design. However, 
we must look higher for the source of the evil. God has a 
holy hand in it. The schism is an awful judgment on both 
parties. God is angry with us. Our sins have procured his 
righteous displeasure. God, thou has cast us off; thou 
hast scattered us ; thou hast been displeased ; ! turn thyself 
to us again. Our dissenting brethren endeavor to persuade 
you, that we are apostates from the cause of God, with a 
view to draw you over to them. Now, brethren, judge, 
whether there be really any just cause for this high accusa- 
tion ? We hope a gracious God will forgive our accusers. 
For your sakes and at your call, we forsook our native coun- 
try, our nearest relations, and dearest friends. To serve you 
in the gospel of Christ, we voluntarily renounced the honors 
and profits of this world, which we might have acquired in 
other stations, and which, the expensive education bestowed 
on us by our parents, might have entitled us to expect. We 
cast ourselves on your mercy, have endured much fatigue 
and loss of health, with other hardships, and spent the prime 
of life, and flower of our days to serve you. To repay this 
will you treat us with neglect, contention, strife, and re- 
proach ! We only entreat, that you will be candid, and 
honest, and judge for yourselves. 

But you will also consider, that if you listen to evil sur- 
mises, and desert us, you thereby, at the same time, set us 
free from the obligations of these relative duties which we 
promised to perform to you. We wish earnestly for truth 



280 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

and peace. But if any be determined, not to be satisfied, 
to the judgment of God we must leave them. We have 
been doing our best to promote the kingdom of Christ ; but, 
hitherto Satan hath much hindered us. 

Hoping that you will resist the spirit of contention and 
division, we exhort and beseech you to attend to the one 
thing needful ; for the Lord is at hand. See that you win 
Christ and be found in him, etc., that you be born again, and 
have become new creatures in Christ Jesus ; that ye walk, 
not after the flesh, but after the spirit ; for if ye live after 
the flesh, ye shall die ; now the works of the flesh are mani- 
fest, which are these, adultery, fornication, etc., hatred, 
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envy- 
ings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. 

Eeceive the truths of the Gospel in the love of them, and 
consider well, we beseech you, that the firmest bonds of 
union in the Church of Christ, are a knowledge of the truth, 
a firm faith in it, love to it, and to one another, for the 
truth's sake. Study to promote real religion in your fami- 
lies ; religious families are like nurseries for planting the 
garden of God. Worship God daily in Spirit and in Truth ; 
teach your children the fear of the Lord ; command them to 
serve him ; set a holy example before them ; and pray much 
for them, and with them. Attend on God's public ordi- 
nances, and command your families to do so. Xever live con- 
tentedly, without the public ordinances of Christ ; honor the 
Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of your 
increase, so shall your barns be filled with plenty, etc., sup- 
port your, ministers honorably, and never think to increase 
your wealth by robbing Christ and his Gospel. See Malachi 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 281 

iii, 8-12. The Jewish religion was labor; but Christ's is 
rest. Theirs was expensive ; but ours is comparatively 
without money and price. Yet the Jewish Church never 
gained anything, but lost much by withholding from the 
Lord's service, what was due to him ; and so it will be with 
us. We earnestly beseech you, to search the Scriptures 
daily, to read God's Word in your families ; study the Con- 
fession of Faith, and your Catechisms much. And as a 
most excellent summary of evangelical and practical reli- 
gion, in connection with the doctrines of grace, ponder well 
the ten commandments, the sins forbidden, the duties re- 
quired, and rules for a right understanding of them, as 
explained in the Larger Catechism. 

By a truly religious profession and holy life, it will 
appear, that G-od is in you of a truth. If the light of 
truth and holiness thus shine on you before men, others, 
seeing your good works, will glorify your Lather who is in 
heaven. God is not the object of our senses. His essence 
is invisible. He can be discerned only by our understand- 
ings. It is an intellectual view of his glory only that men 
can obtain ; and this may be obtained from the works of 
Creation and Providence, but especially from his Word, and 
his Church. A pure and holy Church reflects his glory in 
an eminent degree. God says, " I will dwell in them, and 
walk in them." Christ walked in the midst of the golden 
candlesticks. Such a Church is an image of Heaven. 
God is visible in her. Divine truth, divine love, divine 
purity, peace, harmony, and good order, shed a luster on 
her. The glory of God beams around her. But a society, 
where the contrary evils prevail, is a synagogue of Satan. 



282 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

And wherever heresy, error, pride, strife, contention, uproar, 
and impurity reign, there we see the kingdom of darkness 
and the Devil ; and by such things, men prepare themselves 
to dwell with devils forever. 

Now, Brethren, may the G-od of peace, who brought again 
from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the 
sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make 
you perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in 
you that which is well pleasing in his sight. 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH. 283 



APPENDIX. 



A new scheme of doctrine has been propagated in New 
England; much learned dust kicked up, and metaphysical 
nonsense preached and printed to support it ; on which we 
shall say very little. To give its outlines, seems to he a 
sufficient confutation of it. It originates in false views of 
the divine volitions and agency ; wrong notions of the divine 
decrees ; and from it the modern doctrine of universal sal- 
vation natively springs. The scheme is to the following 
purpose : " That of all possible systems, G-od behooved 
necessarily to create the best." On which we may remark, 
(en passant,) that it seems by this, Grod is not a voluntary, 
but a necessary agent ; and infinite wisdom, power, and 
goodness have already done their utmost — have arrived at 
their ne plus ultra. " That sin, or moral evil, is a part 
of this best system ; and, therefore, G-od is the author of 
sin ; yea, say some, the creator of it ;" giving to sin a 
positive being or existence, or making it a creature ; and 
so, one would think, a very good thing ; and, consequently, 



284 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE OF THE 

that there is no evil at all in the creation, neither moral 
nor penal. " That we should bless God for the creation of 
sin, because it has done a great deal of good in the general 
system ! That men must love God so disinterestedly, as to 
be willing to be damned, to advance his glory, if he see 
it necessary." The plain purport of which is, either, that 
God may see it necessary, for the purposes of his glory, to 
damn a person, whom he has sanctified and saved, united to 
Christ, and enabled to love him supremely : that is, God 
may both save and damn him at the same time : or, that we 
must love God so much, as to pursue that great end, his 
glory, in the way of spurning redeeming love, trampling on 
the blood of the covenant, and doing despite to the spirit of 
grace ; for all men know, this is the way, and the only way 
to damnation, under a Gospel dispensation ; and then it 
turns out to be this, that we must love God so much as to 
hate him with a perfect hatred ; and be so completely in a 
state of salvation, as to be in a state of damnation at 
the same time. " That to maintain, with the apostle, that 
we love Christ, because he first loved us, is selfish, and 
a sure sign of a graceless state ; that true Christian 
love is so elevated and sublime, as to soar above all such 
mean, low, and selfish considerations, as God's love to us in 
Christ. We must love God merely for what he is in him- 
self, without any regard to what he is, and has done for us 
in Christ." The purport of which is, that we may be per- 
fectly holy and completely saved, without a Saviour, (for 
supreme love to God is the essence of holiness, and summit 
of salvation,) or we may savingly know God, and be con- 
formed to him, without any regard to the Mediator Jesus 



WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 285 

Christ, his redeeming love, and what he has done and suf- 
fered for us ; and, consequently, that men might have been 
saved, though Christ had never done nor suffered anything 
for them. Query : In what other medium but the Mediator 
can we see the glory of the divine character, so as to be 
sanctified and saved by the view ? 

And yet in another whirlpool of the same doctrine, the cur- 
rent is quite contradictory to this, for it is asserted by the same 
authors, " That the unconverted need not attempt any duty, 
until they believe in Christ, or be converted, because the 
Scriptures testify, that without faith it is impossible to 
please G-od ; and therefore, if such do pray or practice family 
worship, etc., this is only to add sin to sin." The obvious 
meaning of which is, that the soul of man is a block of wood 
or stone, and the means of grace, such as reading and hear- 
ing the Word, prayer, etc., are in no respect calculated to 
make any impression on, or change that block of wood or 
stone. It would be more proper to take the mason's chisel 
or the carpenter's ax to it, than to exhort it to read, hear, 
or pray ; or at least, that, as the artificer can easily hew and 
fashion to his purpose, a piece of wood or stone, without ax 
or chisel, or any other instrument, so sinners may believe in 
Christ without reading or hearing anything about him ; may 
be taught without teaching ; obtain without asking or desir- 
ing ; yea, get grace at the very moment their heart is shut 
against receiving it. And so may, yea, must lie by in a 
state of inactivity, and at perfect ease, too, (for why should 
they be concerned, they can no more do anything for their 
recovery than a piece of wood or marble can hew itself into 
the image of a man,) until supernatural power begin to 



286 EXPOSITION AND DEFENSE, ETC. 

operate on thein, which it must and will do without their 
using the means of grace, to use which, in a graceless state, 
would only aggravate their guilt. "We are certain such 
reasoning is not sound ; but it is not easy to detect the fal- 
lacy of it. Such teachers do not consider that it is a part of 
the scheme of grace, to give to men and excite them to use 
the means of grace, and that this is a great step toward their 
salvation — that the Spirit of Grod never operates on the soul 
of man but in the way of rousing its powers to action — that 
the Grospel in all its institutions, is a most proper and ra- 
tional address to the rational powers of the soul, and 
adapted to awaken them to action — that God converts men 
in a rational way, by informing the judgment and inclin- 
ing the will, and beside the means of grace nothing more is 
necessary to this than the power of the Spirit to accompany 
them — that it is impossible in the nature of things, to re- 
ceive a blessing without being made willing to receive it, or 
without desiring it, which is the same thing with praying 
for it. But we forbear. These are some of the gross fea- 
tures of the scheme — a scheme propagated not by wild, rant- 
ing enthusiasts and sectarians, but by those who call them- 
selves the regular ministers of regular Churches ; and, we 
hope, some of them learned, sensible, and pious men, too. 
But vain man would be wise ! A fondness for singularity, a 
thirst after fame; and pride of understanding, hurry men 
along in a strain of augmentation, until they reason them- 
selves out of all reason and common sense. Much learning 
makes them mad ! 

FINIS. 



May 17, 18:)*. 






i 



